In the fourth year of Daguan, Zheyan of the northwest Zhejia family was awarded the title of court minister. In this capacity, he went to the Zhimi Pavilion to join the military. He served as an official in Tokyo City for one and a half years and lived in the old residence of the Zhejia West Rangyuan.
This old house is very close to the Imperial City. If you go out of the west gate of the Imperial City, you can see this house on the other side. Every move of the Zhe family is under the eyes of the officials. Several generations of the Zhe family have come to Beijing, whether to report on their duties or to gild. They all live here to show their magnanimity.
Zhe Yanzhi is one of the most outstanding talents of the Zhe family in his generation, with both civil and military skills. Officials of all dynasties in this dynasty have always tried to win over the Zhe family, the Zhong family, and the Yang family in the northwest. Later, the Yang family made mistakes and was favored by the Zhe Zhong family. The more serious the situation, every time there is an outstanding person, he will be called to serve as a capital official in the court.
To be able to stand out among the large hereditary generals like the Northwest Zhe family and win the favor of the imperial court, Zhe Yanzhi naturally has enough brains. Not only did he come to Beijing himself, he also brought his wife and daughter, saying that he admired the prosperity of Kaifeng for a long time and hoped that he would stay there all year round. live.
Not only that, Zhe Yanzhi also brought many fine horses from the northwest. Naturally, they were given to the official family, but privately, the important officials in the court also gained something.
On that day, Zhao Tong took his guards out of the west gate of the imperial city and planned to go to the river to play. They saw a little girl outside Zhe's house, hugging a white pony, sitting on the steps in a pitiful daze.
Zhao Tong was happy when he saw the little pony and the little girl was interesting, so he did not go to the river. The two of them played together all day. Zhao Tong was nine years old and the little girl was eight years old. They became friends from then on, and the little girl He was also Zhao Tong’s only friend when he was a child...
Zhe Hanmei stroked the less obvious diamond-shaped red on Zhaoye Jade Lion's forehead and said, "Xiao Bai, when all the red color grows out of you, you won't be called Zhaoye Jade Lion anymore."
Zhao Tong smiled and said: "Xiao Qingmei, you only care about getting close to Xiao Bai, but you don't even care about me, a friend I haven't seen for many years."
Zhe Hanmei blushed and said: "Your Majesty, there is a difference between dignity and inferiority at this time. How can it be more childish and innocent? Hanmei doesn't dare."
Zhao Tong laughed and said: "When I wanted to leave Xiaobai, I didn't care about my superiority or inferiority. Now I still remember crying and wiping away my tears, grabbing my clothes and not letting me go back to the palace. If General Zhe hadn't pulled me, I would have been so embarrassed. Just eat people."
Zhe Hanmei covered her face and said, "Your Majesty, I missed it. Xiaobai was given to the Prince by Hanmei. How can it be so unbearable?"
Zhao Tong nodded and said: "Yes, yes, isn't it a gift? By the way, Xiao Qingmei, why are you here? General Zhe, is everything okay now?"
Zhe Hanmei said: "Father, everything is fine. My brother and I went to Xining Prefecture to visit my uncle, and now we have to go back to my grandpa's house in Xizhou."
Zhao Tong thought for a while and found out that the in-law relationship among the northwest generals was complicated. When the Yang family was still there, there were a large number of three-way marriages, no less than those of the Central Plains aristocratic families in the previous dynasties, and then asked: "Did you know that Gao Yongsui of Xiningzhou is your uncle?"
Zhe Hanmei nodded and said, "It's my uncle. I think he must know about the prince's arrival, but this is a military secret, so he didn't tell me and my brother."
Zhao Tan burst out laughing when he heard this. The Gao family is also a general in the northwest. Gao Yongsui's brother Gao Yongnian is the patrol inspector of Linzhou. Not only did he go to Xizhou, but when he came to Xiningzhou, don't say that neither of them had official positions. I'm afraid it would be regarded as... There are no more than three people in the entire state who know about it.
"Although it's not a big deal, Gaozhi Prefecture will naturally not leak the news easily." Zhao Tao glanced at the Zhaoye Jade Lion and suddenly said: "He Huang raises horses, what do you think of Xiao Qingmei?"
Zhe Hanmei was stunned when she heard this: "My lord, are you going to reopen the racecourse?"
Zhao Tong said: "It doesn't count as reopening. I don't plan to let this stall go out. I just want to support my family and supply the court."
Zhe Hanmei and Zhe Zhichang looked at each other, with surprise flashing in their eyes. Zhe Zhichang said: "Your Majesty, if you raise the horse yourself, it will definitely be better than hiring the peasants below. However, raising horses requires a huge amount of money..."
Zhao Tong looked at him and smiled: "Hehuang is rich and there is no shortage of food. Qingtang City was the original center of Xishang South Road. It just depends on how it is run."
Zhe Zhichang said: "If the prince really wants to raise horses, it will be a blessing for our country, but..."
Seeing his hesitation, Zhao Tong asked, "What do you say, Mr. Zhejia?"
Zhezhi Changqi Ai said: "It's just that the racecourse has been abandoned for a long time, and now there has been no military activity in the Longyou area for a long time. Even the boundaries of the company...the company are somewhat unclear."
Zhao Tong frowned slightly, Longyou is a land that occupies an extremely vast area, bordering Xixia to the north, Qiangtang and Tubo tribes to the south, Gaotang Uighurs to the west, and even reaching Eastern Karahan in the farthest direction.
The area under the jurisdiction of the Longyou Protectorate is roughly more than two-thirds of the entire Xixia territory. The only shortcoming is that the population is too small. The Song Dynasty was not good at managing this place and it gradually became deserted.
Although the Protector-General of the Longyou Protectorate was only of the fourth rank, his responsibilities were the same as the border pacification envoys. He had always been concurrently appointed. Initially, the governor was in Huangzhou, and he was concurrently appointed by Zhihuangzhou. Later, he moved to Xining Prefecture, and was appointed by Zhixining. State concurrently.
The Protector-General of Longyou is an official, but the real status often depends on the rank of the person who serves as him.
For example, Gao Qiu, the commander of the front department of the palace, was from the second rank, but he had the title of Taiwei and opened the palace with the same rank as the third department, so he was the first rank to lead the front department of the palace.
However, there has been no establishment of the Imperial Guard and Military Commander for many years. Previously, it was lower than the Imperial Palace Commander, and higher than the Capital Commander. However, the Imperial Guard was canceled after the founding of the dynasty. However, it was re-established this time, and it is still higher than the Imperial Palace Commander. The envoy is the second rank of Zheng. Zhao Tong promotes the bodyguards and military commanders to the first rank. The envoy of Xihe Road Xuanfu is a temporary official position during the war. He is the king of Qi, the grand master, and the minister, so he is the first rank. .
The Daojun Emperor of this dynasty changed the three princes to Taishi, Taifu and Taibao. Many princes who were granted the title of king had such titles. For example, King Zhao Kai of Yun was titled Taifu. This did not mean the emperor's teacher.
Therefore, if Zhao Tong is not here, then the Xihe Road Jinglue Comfort Envoy is the greatest, and if he is here, he is the greatest protector of the Longyou Protectorate.
Zhao Tong thought for a while and said, "Is there still a lot of fun in Tubo?"
Zhe Zhichang said: "It's not as troublesome as in the past. Even Xixia is much more honest, and the Uighurs don't stop, especially Qiuci and Khotan tribes from time to time.
Zhao Tong sneered: "We are all dreaming about taking over Qingtang. Qingtang has changed from Shanzhou to Xining for so many years, how can we change back again!"
Zhe Zhichang said: "So although it is a great thing for the prince to raise horses, if he is allowed to raise a large number of horses, it will be a bit troublesome."
Zhao Tao said: "It's not necessary for the time being. I have never raised one before. Let's try it from Xining Prefecture to Huang Prefecture first."
Zhe Hanmei said from the side: "Your Majesty, if you really want to raise a horse, I can help you."
Zhao Tong smiled and said: "How can I help? You won't go back to Xizhou?"
Zhe Hanmei smiled and said: "I didn't want to go back in the first place. I have to be controlled everywhere. As for raising horses, I know how to do it."
Zhao Tong said: "I know you can do it, Xiao Qingmei, but you can't do it alone, right? I brought a group of people here. I just want them to be skilled, but I'm afraid they won't be able to do it in a while."
Zhe Hanmei said: "This is simple. You don't need to raise the horses, but you can hire them to train the horses. Besides, there are many people in my Zhe family who know how to raise horses. I'll write to my father and ask him to send some people over. Already?"
Zhe Zhichang looked strange when he heard this. He thought about it and lowered his head.
Zhao Tong narrowed his eyes slightly and fell into deep thought.
