They also played a very important role in military operations.

It can be said that the Zhao Guan family's large-scale march into the Hetao would not have been so easy if the Zhe family had not actually carried out the attack and defense at Hengshan earlier.

Coupled with Li Qianshun's first rank and Li Qianshun's two sons, there is no doubt about his military merit.

At the same time, there seems to be no need to discuss the loyalty of many of the accompanying Zhe clan members. Zhe can ask for the following. In fact, the Zhe clan has a large number of disciples who were kidnapped with the Second Saint in Jingkang. In Jianyanzhong, they would rather He was tortured outside the customs and was unwilling to return to Fuzhou after the surrender of Fuzhou. He was not sent home until the second saint of the Shaoxing Incident returned south.

This can be confirmed by many prisoners.

There is also Zhe Yanzhi, who has a very high status in the Zhe family. He is already over 50 years old this year. Regardless of the fact that his children are all in Fuzhou, he has experienced ups and downs in the past few years. He has been reprimanded and promoted without saying a word. He has always been sincere in his work. Fan Gang was dispatched from Bashu and was given the title of Minister of Household Affairs and Military Weapon Supervisor. He was promoted to an important minister at the level of the Secret Pavilion.

For these reasons, or from these perspectives, even if no one said it, some subtle breaths could still be felt... To put it bluntly, many people are leaning towards the court pardoning Zhe, especially this time Li Qianshun The contribution of father and son is indeed a huge step.

However, after all, Zhe Keqiu publicly surrendered to the Jurchens during the Jingkang-Jianyan War, and the Zhao Guan family issued an unpardoned order before he surrendered.

Of course, the converse continues: now and then, since the imperial court has taken all the northwest and Xixia, the century-old enemy, is gone, no one can deny the trend of revival.

In this case, should we still adhere to the previous stringent measures?

Is it most appropriate to relax appropriately and send a signal to many people in the north?

However, after thinking about it, these are just fantasies of the people below. After the great march to the northwest, the fall of Xixia, and the Jinhebo alliance, the authority of the Zhao official family has become increasingly powerful, and everything still depends on the official decision.

Therefore, Zhe Keqiu entered the capital that day, and the next day, the capital, province, and Privy Council jointly submitted a petition to the imperial court... This was also a kind of trial, because it was a kind of help to ask Zhe Keqiu to personally present Li Qianshun's head and two children. Already.

The first result of the test made people feel a little relieved. Zhao Guan's family promised to summon him to Shiting in the harem the next morning.

After receiving the order, early on the next morning, the following Zhe Keqiu and several of the accompanying Zhe family's children, dressed in white and stripped of their crowns, accompanied by Zhe Yanzhi, held the box with Li Qianshun's head in their arms, together with Brother Wei Mingyun and Li The brothers entered the harem together from Donghua Gate and came to the imperial palace.

"Is this Li Qianshun's head?"

In the nameless stone pavilion by the fish pond, Zhao Jiu, who had a stone table covered with documents, saw the person coming and put down the file in his hand, and then Lieutenant General Yang Yi presented the casket with the head of Li Qianshun... These days, according to the rules, every day Whenever an official enters Beijing or takes up a local post, he must personally verify and interview those who reach a certain level, which is troublesome.

"Yes!" As soon as the leader Zhe Keqiu came in, he prostrated himself on the ground and did not dare to raise his head. Just when he was about to answer, he was unexpectedly beaten by Brother Wei Mingyun, who was a prisoner. "So that the Emperor of the Song Dynasty knows that the king The head was cut off by the foreign minister himself, and there is no falsehood. Your Majesty, feel free to open it for inspection."

Wearing a box with a strong smell, Zhao Jiu raised his head and looked at Brother Wei Mingyun, and then at the two frightened children beside Brother Wei Mingyun. Having just given birth to two sons, he couldn't help but Frowning: "There is no need for an examination. How can anyone examine his father's head in front of a child? Take it away! Ren Baozhong will do it. Find a place to bury it seriously. Don't be too rude, but don't let anyone know. It just needs to be the tomb of the Xixia Emperor!"

The nearby minister Ren Baozhong who was accompanying him hurriedly stepped forward, saying "Guan Jiaren Nian", then picked up the head box and turned around to leave.

Brother Wei Mingyun quickly kowtowed and thanked him, but finally began to burst into tears.

As soon as the box was gone, Zhao Jiu took a few deep breaths, and then asked quietly: "Brother Wei Mingyun, where did you flee to?"

"Escaped to Dijinze." Brother Yun bowed his head with tears in his eyes. "The place where our ancestors started..."

Zhao Jiu was really at a loss this time. Although he had gained a lot of knowledge about Xixia before his expedition to Xixia, he still didn't know the past history because of the current geographical situation of Xixia.

However, Lu Benzhong was nearby and quickly explained. Only then did the Zhao Guan family know that the so-called Dijinze was the place where Xixia started. In the past, when the Song Dynasty was founded, Xiazhou was donated to the Song Dynasty by the party nobles. Li Jiqian, the founder of Xixia, refused to accept it and led the way.

The ten knights fled to Jinze, a desert oasis three hundred miles north of Xiazhou, where they accumulated strength and gathered tribes. In the end, they fought unyieldingly and not only recaptured Xiazhou, but also captured Hengshan, and then occupied Xingling and fought with Tubo.

The remaining tribes fought for supremacy, died on the way to the Western Expedition, and became the de facto founder of Xixia.

After hearing this, Zhao Jiu couldn't help but be curious: "Since you have fled to that place and are determined to restore the country, why don't you persevere and instead start internal strife?"

Brother Wei Mingyun was in great mourning when he heard this: "Your Majesty, the foreign minister is not fighting internally, but is being ordered to do it! The reason why we can't persist is not the foreign minister, nor the king, nor Wei Ming, who escorted the king to Dijinze.

General (Li) Liangfu... The country is in decline, but the leader of the country has been in charge of the country for forty or fifty years, and his authority is still there, while the rest of the people have narrowly escaped death. When the ancestors are revived, who is not a loyal minister who does not care about life and death?

"

Zhao Jiu became increasingly puzzled: "Then why did Li Qianshun lose his ambition again?"

"Because destiny is no longer in Dabai Gaoguo!" Brother Wei Mingyun cried more and more. "Only when the foreign minister arrived at Dijinze did he find that the oasis that used to be lush with water and grass, but was the foundation of the oasis has shrunk, not to mention grazing and planting.

, even drinking water was difficult... Only one or two thousand people gathered, but within a few dozen days, the springs were exhausted by drinking... The soldiers were scattered day and night, and the few loyal ones wanted to follow them until death, but they were often trapped by a pot of water.

! Later, General Weiming (Li) Liangfu simply killed his son, on the one hand to save water, and on the other hand to use blood and water to supply the soldiers... But the king noticed it, and he couldn't bear it anymore. He said that he could die, but

The prince and the King of Yue could not be reduced to blood-drinking, so they asked the foreign ministers to take action... and then asked the foreign ministers and General Liangfu to bring the prince and the King of Yue to Tokyo with their heads to ask for an audience with His Majesty, because the Song Dynasty had always been able to deal with the surrendered ministers with wealth and honor.

It's just that the Jurchens didn't know their nature... But when they were about to reach the edge of the desert, General Liangfu said that he killed his son for the sake of the monarch. Now that the monarch was gone, he killed his son like an animal, so he gave the last straw to the prince.

, the King of Yue entrusted it to me, and I turned back directly into the desert... The foreign ministers had no choice but to continue to take the prince and the King of Yue to the southeast, but they ran into Zhe's search troops."

When everyone heard that Xixia's final fate was so tragic, they all changed their minds.

Only the Zhao Guan family sighed differently: "I have told you that Xixia has been over-developed in the upper reaches and has suffered soil erosion. You still don't believe it..."

When the officials around him heard this, they were shocked and somewhat believed it.

"Forget it!" Zhao Jiu sighed. "In that case... I will give you a house, and you can adopt your two children as adopted sons, and you can live happily in Tokyo from now on."

Young brother Wei Mingyun burst into tears when he heard this.

Moreover, on the way to Tokyo this time, Brother Yun had already learned that it was Yelu Yujian who instigated this plan to destroy the country. Thinking back to his words that day, plus the guilt of killing Li Qianshun with his own hands, he repeatedly wanted to seek death... But since the king of the country is dead, Renduo Baozhong and others have turned around so quickly, and Li Liangfu is also dead. It would be easy for him to die at this time, but what about the seven or eight-year-old prince and the younger King of Yue?

If I don’t take care of myself, I’m afraid I might just catch a cold one day and deserve to die, right?

At this thought, Weiming Yun Ge not only suppressed his intention to die, but also kowtowed to the ground with tears in his eyes: "Foreign minister, please dedicate your head to me and ask for a useful background. The prince of my country, the King of Yue is here, and the foreign minister will never repeat it. Please Your Majesty has mercy!"

Zhao Jiu thought for a moment, turned around and exchanged words with several close ministers, and then nodded slightly: "If I don't use your situation, people will say that I am stingy. This is better. Since you are a local general of the party, you should know how to raise camels." Right?"

"Of course the foreign minister understands!" Brother Wei Mingyun quickly responded. "The foreign minister is willing to follow the example of Jin Rixi and lead the camel for His Majesty!"

"You don't need to lead the camels. I'm about to rebuild the Group Animal Husbandry Department, which is your party's Feilongyuan. There is a camel breeding site outside Tokyo. You can hang under the imperial camp as a logistics worker in charge of the camels... See if you can You can't help the Privy Council organize a Poxi army... and then you can join the imperial court with Ren Baozhong as a member of the Dangxiang royal family and give an explanation to Ningxia... How about that?" Zhao Jiu asked in a friendly tone.

"Foreign Minister...I am very grateful!" Brother Wei Mingyun gritted his teeth and changed his title.

"Then let's go down." Zhao Jiu waved his hand casually. "Ren Lushe will take them to settle down."

Brother Wei Mingyun quickly called Li Renxiao, kowtowed to the ignorant Li Renyou to thank him, and then hurriedly followed Lu Benzhong.

But after Lu Benzhong left, Zhao Jiu turned to look at the man in white who was prostrating in front of him, and his tone was much lighter: "Are you just asking for help?"

"The guilty minister is willing to ask for help." The man prostrated himself on the ground, not daring to raise his head at all.

"Raise your head." Under the attention of many surrounding ministers, Zhao Jiu signaled with an obviously unkind tone.

Zhe Keqiu, who was not wearing a hat, quickly followed his words. Although he knew that he was in a difficult situation, he still couldn't help but take a look at the young official in front of him... Starting from the year before last, after Yaoshan, he He especially wanted to take a look at the official who defeated Lou Shi, and after the fall of Xixia this year, his desire became even stronger.

In a sense, he has persisted until now mainly because he wanted to see this official in person.

In stark contrast, Zhao Jiu just glanced at the forty-three-year-old head of the Zhe family, the golden age of a general, and became impatient:

"Have you finished reading? Let's get down to business after reading. You call yourself a guilty minister. What crime do you have?"

"The guilty minister could not keep his integrity...he actually bent his knees and went to the north." Zhe Keqiu quickly bowed his head and answered.

Zhao Jiu took a long breath after hearing this. This breath was even more hurried than when Li Qianshun's stinking head was taken away. After taking a few deep breaths, the official looked at the fish pond to the north and shook his head: "I know. The process of your surrender must be dealt with honestly and on the basis of the facts. The crime is unforgivable but the circumstances are excusable."

"The sinner can get this..."

"But your matter is not just about surrendering once, you also have three other grave sins." Zhao Jiu interrupted directly without waiting for the other party's words. "One is that when the country is in crisis, you still regard the three states outside Hewai as the enemy. Private property, using the land of the three states as a bargaining chip for the continuation of the clan, unlike Suide Li Yongqi, Li Shifu and his son who dared to abandon the land and travel around to serve the country; the other one sat back and watched Xu Huiyan die for his country in the Jinning Army. I have ten thousand reasons to forgive you, But you can't stop a dead Xu Huiyan... You said that if I don't deal with you and go to Yuetai in the future, how can I deal with Xu Huiyan and the soldiers of the Jinning Army who died with him?"

After hearing this, everyone understood the official's intentions, and even if they had to give in, they bowed their heads again and remained silent.

"Besides." Zhao Jiu glanced at the other party and continued. "Your third crime is that you dare to come to see me! And you brought Li Qianshun's head to see me... What do you mean? Do you think that the head of a fallen king can pay for your crimes? Or do you want everyone in the world to say that the Zhao Guan family is so generous to the Dangxiang royal family, but treats the clan that has been guarding the border for a hundred years harshly?"

Zhe Keqiu came to a complete realization and hurriedly raised his head. Just as he was about to speak, he saw the official standing in the stone pavilion with his sleeves fluttering in front of him: "I'll give you a sword. Go out quickly. Go through Xuande Tower and Xinzheng." Come on, go to the Yue Tai for me to pay homage to the souls of Xu Huiyan, Li Yongqi and others!"

Zhe Keqiu was choked in his chest with all the words he could say. He could only kowtow on the ground a few times, then stood up in a daze, turned around and left. Behind him, several Zhe family disciples who were also wearing white clothes and without hats wanted to follow, but they were stopped by Yuqian Banzhi and turned away. , only Zheyanzhi lowered his head to follow Yang Yizhong's signal.

After leaving Linhua Gate, Yang Yizhong, who had been accompanying him, gave him another sword and asked him to hold it and leave.

In the morning, when the sun began to rise, Zhe Keqiu turned to the south from Linhua Gate and walked to Yiyou Gate with his sword in hand. He was more or less clear-sighted and knew that the official wanted to humiliate him and then let him stand on Yuetai. He wanted to die for the world to see, so that he could give an explanation to the world... After his death, the three states outside Hebei would probably return to the direct rule of the imperial court, but his children and the Zhe family were more or less preserved.

As soon as he thought of this, the man who had been mentally prepared felt a little relaxed.

However, Zhe Keqiu, who had a desperate mentality, walked out of Yiyou Gate and turned left to the Yintai Gate to enter the front palace. He was suddenly stopped because when he got here, he saw people coming and going in front of him, all coming from Xuande Tower. The two entrances and exits of the side gate and Donghua Gate are the bureaucratic generals of Chongwen Yuan where the front province, the Privy Council, and the Secret Pavilion are located.

Civil and military ministers and officials were walking back and forth, either wearing purple, scarlet or green robes, or wearing armor and swords. They all looked around proudly, facing each other from left to right. The atmosphere was high and warm, so much so that even those wearing white clothes, without hats and holding swords could have prayed as soon as they set foot here. On the way, he fell into onlookers.

People have a sense of shame. Even though they had long understood that this was Zhao Guan's original intention, Zhe Keqiu still couldn't help but hesitate for a moment, then lowered his head and hurriedly started.

However, the further we went, the more people gathered to watch the civil and military affairs. What's more, everyone knew that Zhe Keqiu was summoned by the officials today, and Zhe Keqiu was dressed like this, and there were Zhe Yanzhi and Yang Yizhong leading the soldiers following him. , who can’t wake up if they pay attention for a moment?

Besides, there are actually quite a few old friends in the court who directly recognize Zhe Keqiu, the so-called Zhe Keqiu.

Therefore, when Ke Qiu arrived at the main gate in front of Chongwen Academy, many ministers in the courtyard, such as Du Sheng and the Privy Council, had already heard the news, and they all came out to watch. They were the Du Sheng, the four ministers of the Privy Council, and several ministers who were working here.

, the minister, Jiuqing, and the judge heard that Zhe Keqiu had achieved results, and they all went out to see it...just like watching Yue Fei pass by with the banner of loyalty to the country that day.

Up to this point, Zhe Keqiu was completely embarrassed. With his face flushed and ears flushed, he was almost ashamed of himself. He could only hurry up more and more in order to get out of trouble.

However, when he arrived in front of Xuande Tower, he suddenly stopped and then slowed down... It is said that Yang Yizhong had given the order long before he arrived to open the middle door of Xuande Tower. At this time, he was on the Imperial Street in front of him.

, bustling with people, there are countless Tokyo citizens looking curiously, wondering why this door is opened? What kind of people want to come out from this door?

Isn't it even more glorious than Yue Pengju's last time?

I originally thought that I could grit my teeth and go to the altar for the sake of my family and die in front of the altar in exchange for the safety of my family. But when I came to the door, I was frightened. I was in a dilemma for a while, and then I was completely panicked.

But I dare not stop!

As he walked forward slowly, he looked back behind him and saw countless officials from the current dynasty swarming behind him, either watching in astonishment, standing silent, watching with cold eyes, or sighing with hands tied. Of course, they were also pointing and pointing.

There was a lot of discussion, and even his own nephew, Zhe Yanzhi, who was already over fifty years old, was so embarrassed that he hid his face in front of him.

Looking further forward, outside the main entrance of Xuande Tower, countless Tokyo scholars and civilians gathered on both sides of the imperial road. The number of people far exceeded the number inside the door. They were all watching curiously. Some people even followed his steps and caught a glimpse of him.

Whisper with the person on the same side.

Not only that, it was only at this time that Zhe Keqiu remembered that opposite Xuande Building, on the boundary of the former Shangshu Province, this was where the Liubu Jiuqing public house was located, and the printing place of Di newspaper where Tai students gathered was opposite the Liubu public house.
To be continued...