After Zhao Tong returned to the palace, he ordered the door to be closed tightly and no one was to be seen.
Yue Fei was not in the palace at this time, but he did not leave Tokyo either. Zhao Yu asked him to go to Lu Junyi before entering the palace.
Lu Junyi now has a big job as an official, and it is still very easy to hide someone at home without being discovered.
Zhao Tong stayed in the house for three days. On the fourth day, before dawn, Yan Qing came quietly to deliver a letter to report that he was safe. He didn't say anything after reading the letter, and asked Yan Qing to tell Yue Fei that there was no need to leave Tokyo for the time being.
Then two days passed. Early in the morning, Zhao Tao was walking birds in the woods in the mansion, holding a bird cage, accompanied by a big yellow dog.
This dog was picked up by Lei San from the street outside for a few years, probably in the winter when he went to Longyou. It was just a puppy at the time, and he has been raising it until now.
The dog has a very simple name, Dahuang. It is following him with its tongue hanging out and looking left and right as he walks. When he sees something moving in the grass, he scurries over.
Zhao Tong found a tree stump and sat down, took out a willow flute from his arms, and slowly played it. What he was playing was the isolated city Wanren Mountain among the white clouds far above the Yellow River.
At this time, there was a "squeaking" sound coming from the grass nearby, and the yellow dog rushed over with a "woofing" sound, and then heard it whine for a while, with a grass snake hanging from its nose and peeing all over the place. Run away.
Zhao Tong frowned and shook his head. After sitting there in a daze for a while, he looked towards the distant north...
A few days later, the envoys from the Kingdom of Jin left Beijing. Emperor Daojun spent a lot of money to appease these Jurchens and wrote a letter to Wanyan Wu Qimai personally for these people to take back.
The alliance talks did not succeed. Of course, this was just the initial test of each other. It would take at least several rounds of entanglement and bargaining before it could be completed.
Zhao Tong took Zhao Yuannu into his residence and changed his surname to Qin.
Due to her original status, Zhao Yuannu could not get a title like a normal woman without any merit.
But if you have meritorious service, there will be no problem if you get the imperial decree.
Take Liang Hongyu as an example. Liang Hongyu was born as a prostitute with a humble background. When she first married Han Shizhong, she was a concubine. Because Han Shizhong had a real wife, and the Song Dynasty had no equal wives, she could only be a concubine.
But a concubine has no status, unless she is later made the main wife or gets a royal title.
But at this time, Han Shizhong was only an eighth-grade military attache, and his wife was not very old, so Liang Hongyu had no chance.
But the wonders of life are often unexpected, and opportunities only appear for those who are prepared.
In the third year of Jianyan, that is, the third year after Jingkang, Miao and Liu rebelled. Liang Hongyu traveled hundreds of miles overnight to recruit Han Shizhong to join the Wei to quell the rebellion. She made special achievements and was therefore granted the title of Mrs. Anguo and Mrs. Protector of the Country.
The reason for the exception is that the level of this imperial edict is higher than Han Shizhong’s official rank!
The imperial edict follows the husband's official position, or his sub-official rank, and the rank is generally not higher, so this is an exception.
Just one year later, in the fourth year of Jianyan, Huang Tiandang fought fiercely. Liang Hongyu personally held the drum and jointly commanded the battle with Han Shizhong, blocking the invading Jin army on the south bank of the Yangtze River for forty-eight days!
In the end, because the Jin army still escaped, Liang Hongyu actually wrote a letter to impeach Han Shizhong as the imperial wife, who missed the opportunity and allowed the enemy. The whole court was shocked by it, and he named Mrs. Yang Guo again.
Mrs. Yang Guo was the royal wife of the country, and she became famous all over the world from then on.
In the fifth year of Shaoxing, Han Shizhong became an official Shaobao. In August of the same year, Han Shizhong's original wife Bai passed away. Only then did Liang Hongyu become Han Shizhong's first wife.
In other words, until she was granted the title of Lady of the State, Liang Hongyu was just a concubine, but this did not affect her status because she had a royal decree!
But he was unable to get the title at the beginning because he had low status and no merit.
This was the case with Zhao Yuannu, but Zhao Yu changed her surname to Qin. King Qin's Qin, and naming her surname after the title of King Qin was considered a kind of favor. It was always much better than an ordinary concubine.
There was no grand banquet this time, but there were plenty of ceremonies. However, Zhao Tong refused to accept gifts this time, even from his direct relatives. He was carried into the house. After the ceremony, the door was closed, and no outsiders were seen...
August entered in the blink of an eye. That morning, Zhao Tan received a secret letter from Suiyulou. It was forwarded to spies in the Liao Kingdom. Zhao Tan deployed more than a dozen people in the Liao Kingdom to gather information, all of whom were not his own. From the military.
After reading the letter, he thought for a long time, and then called Qi Hongyu and Jian Suyi into the house, but he felt that it was not enough, so he called Zhang Xian and Gao Chong to come over, and then explained many things.
He wanted to leave the house, but he was afraid that it would not be safe, so he called a few times. As for Gao Chong, he came because he had a title and could suppress some things.
In the evening, I first went to see little Zhao Xi. He could sit down but could not speak yet. When he saw him, he just stretched out his little hands for a hug.
After waiting for a while, Zhao Tong said that he had to practice martial arts recently, and the general came over, and then went out to leave.
In the evening, he went to rest at his mother's place. She was now more and more attractive, as beautiful as a peach and a plum, and as soft as spring water.
For a moment, it is slender and plump, the satin rolls are red and the oriole crows.
I don't know how much time had passed, but I saw the moon hanging high outside the window. Zhao Tong waved his hand to extinguish the lights, letting the moonlight shine in. The snow was as white as a dream, as bright as frost.
He was lying on his mother's lap, eyes slightly closed, and chanting a song.
The young lady said, "Mr. Lang has something on his mind."
Zhao Tong smiled, without opening his eyes, but whispered: "I have to go out tomorrow."
The young lady was confused: "Didn't the official ban the husband for three months? It seems that there are still more than two months left..."
Zhao Tong said: "Don't tell anyone, go out secretly and don't let the old man know."
The young lady was silent: "Where is Mr. Lang going? Is it far away? If it is far, then in this mansion..."
Zhao Tong said: "I just want to tell you about this matter. I will go to Liao Kingdom tomorrow."
"Liao Kingdom?" The young lady was stunned for a moment, then put her hand on Zhao Tong's shoulder: "How long will Lang Jun be there? Has everything been arranged in the mansion?"
Zhao Tong grabbed the girl's hand and whispered: "Everything has been arranged. Qi Hongyu, Jian Suyi, Zhang Xian and Gao Chong have all called over. I just told you to practice martial arts in seclusion and won't show up for a short time. If it is necessary to step forward, let..."
Xiao Niang listened for a long time and nodded: "The Nu family knows, then Xiu Niang and Yuan Nu..."
"Those two are keeping it a secret. You are the only one who knows about this matter. If you have any doubts over time, you can cover it up."
The girl nodded: "Liao is far away, so please be careful on the road."
Zhao Tong suddenly turned over, and his wife murmured: "Mr. Jun, no more..."
Zhao Tong said: "How can I have a child? I also want a daughter."
After a while, a melodious and moving voice sounded in the room...
In the early morning, Zhao Tong changed his appearance and went out from the back door of the palace.
It was just dawn at this time, and when I walked to the intersection, I saw Ouyang Bei waiting here.
The two of them did not speak, but walked towards Lu Junyi's residence in tacit understanding.
When they got there, there was a black carriage parked on the side of the road. Seeing that there was no one around, the two of them got on the carriage directly. Yue Fei was waiting in the carriage.
Yue Fei also changed his appearance at this moment, with a false beard under his chin. After all, there are still wanted portraits of him on the streets.
But the portrait was unrealistic to begin with, and now it's even harder to recognize with the beard on it.
Ouyang Bei was driving the shaft in front, and the horse neighed lightly and walked towards the city gate with a "tap, tap, tap".
The gates of Tokyo have just opened at this moment, and the soldiers guarding the city are sleepy-eyed. There are many people entering the city at this time, most of whom are delivering vegetables and meat and poultry to various houses or restaurants, but not many people leave the city.
When the soldiers guarding the city saw the carriage, they were about to interrogate him. Ouyang Bei took out something from his body and showed it in front of the soldier. The soldier glanced at it and hurriedly changed his flattering smile: "It turns out it's Mr. Si Li. A small faux pas.”
Ouyang Bei didn't say anything, and whipped the carriage over. He, Huang Gu, and Ding Daxie all had official positions in the military department. Although they didn't sound high-ranking, they were high officials in the eyes of the soldiers.
It was extremely difficult for military attachés to get promoted during this period. Sometimes, even though they had great power, their actual rank was not high.
Even ordinary military attaches are faced with a situation where they cannot be promoted when they reach the fourth rank, because there are very few pure military positions above the fourth rank, and there are only a few positions. Without great connections, it is impossible to rise further if they are trusted by the officials. .
Most of the time, if you want to be promoted again, you can only transfer to a civilian position, but this is also difficult. After all, if a fourth-grade military general transfers to a civilian position, it must be to continue to be promoted to the border management in the future. Without this step, he would not have this background and connections. , it’s useless to rise, and it can’t rise.
Therefore, most military generals' official positions are over when they reach the fourth rank.
The Palace Front Division and the Guards and Military Division are both military divisions, and they are all military attachés. Ouyang Bei is currently in charge of the seventh rank. In the Song Dynasty, ranks are ranks, officers are officials, and positions are positions. There are many officers in the army. In fact, Shang is not an official because he has no rank at all.
For someone like Ouyang Bei to be thrown into the Forbidden Army, he already had a very high position. This is why the soldiers guarding the city called him "Sir."
The carriage crossed the moat and went straight to the northeast. Only then did Zhao Tong speak in the carriage: "Junior brother, I have been wronged during this time."
Yue Fei said: "Senior brother, what are you talking about? I live very well in the senior brother's house. I practice martial arts with senior senior brother and brother Xiao Yi every day. I am very happy."
Zhao Tong smiled and said: "If this is true, I am relieved. This time I went to the Liao Kingdom and had to help again. Senior brother felt really sorry, but there was no one. He only took Ouyang Bei with him, so he called me senior brother. .”
Yue Fei shook his head: "Senior brother said that because he doesn't regard me as his junior brother. Yue Fei doesn't have much ability. It's an honor to be able to help senior brother."
Zhao Tong said: "When did you learn to speak so tactfully?"
Yue Fei said sarcastically: "Junior brother is not a rigid person to begin with."
Zhao Tong nodded: "That's good. If he's too rigid, wouldn't he become a scholar?"
Yue Fei said yes, thought for a while and said: "I heard that senior brother was banned from traveling, why did he suddenly go to Liao Kingdom again?"
Zhao Tong was silent for a long time after hearing this, and then he lifted the curtains of the car. In front of him, he could see the rushing Yellow River in the distance. The carriage was traveling along with the Yellow River, heading straight for Hebei East Road.
"I have a good friend in the Liao Kingdom. I heard that she is getting married, so I went over to have a look." Zhao Tong said.
Yue Fei was stunned when he heard this. Should he go to the Liao Kingdom to celebrate his friends? This was something he hadn't thought of before.
Although it stands to reason that with Zhao Tong's identity, secretly traveling to another country is a bit bold and risky, but from the perspective of Jianghu, it is not a big deal. After all, he is highly skilled in martial arts. As long as he is not surrounded by a large army, it is unlikely that anything will happen.
"Senior brother, do you have spies in the Liao Kingdom?" Yue Fei asked. Generally speaking, the Song and Liao countries, including Xixia, had spies transmitting information to each other. However, in the Song Dynasty, this matter was under the control of the Privy Council or the Border Economic and Pacific Envoy, and This kind of spy probably wouldn't tell anyone about marriage, so Yue Fei thought it was Zhao Tong's own spy.
Zhao Tong nodded: "Junior brother's guess is good, I do have someone lurking in the Liao Kingdom."
After he finished speaking, he sighed slightly. There was only one piece of news in the secret letter he received from Anzi this time.
Princess Yanmin of the Northern Liao Dynasty will get married on August 20th. The princess of the Liao Kingdom Hanlin will accept the decree, and the Liao Xingjun Jiedushi will be envoys, Yelu Dashi.
Xiao Min is getting married!
The target is Yelu Dashi!
Zhao Tong was a little stunned when he saw the secret letter, but thinking about it, Xiao Min was already quite old and Yelu Dashi was also very old. It was time for them to get married. After all, the two had been engaged before and were in an unmarried relationship.
However, Zhao Tong felt uncomfortable in his heart. Recalling the events when he went to the Kingdom of Jin to assassinate Wanyan Aguda, it seemed as if it was happening before his eyes.
Although Xiao Min is not very smart, well, he is still a bit petty, and he is often self-righteous and does things that he feels are great and no one can see through, but they are full of flaws.
But isn't that what's so cute about her? Not too scheming, innocent, lively, and flawless.
And Yelu Dashi is not a good match. Yelu Dashi is a man with a gloomy and meticulous mind and ruthless methods. He will do anything to achieve his goal. This was already revealed when he chose who to follow Zhao Tong to the Kingdom of Jin for assassination. .
Xiao Min is his fiancée, and Xiao Ta Buyan is his confidante. No matter how you look at it, he is closer to Xiao Min, and Xiao Min will definitely give him more help in his career. Xiao Ta Bu Yan does not have as strong a background as Xiao Min.
However, Yelu Dashi and Zhao Tao had a tacit understanding at that time, and neither of them had any good intentions. With a few words, Xiao Min asked Xiao Min to ask for orders to go to the Kingdom of Jin.
At that time, Xiao Ta could follow Zhao Ta to the Kingdom of Jin even if he didn't smoke. However, Yelv Dashi was afraid that Zhao Ta would think that Xiao Ta's non-smoking was not enough. Because Zhao Ta showed that intention, he knew that he could only follow Xiao Min's identity. Only in this way could Zhao Tan feel at ease, so he didn't care about his fiancée, princess, or teacher's daughter, and agreed that Xiao Min would go to the Kingdom of Jin with Zhao Tan.
But how can Xiao Min help? Yelu Dashi naturally understands Xiao Min. It's good if she doesn't do anything bad. He just serves as a proton to let her follow Zhao Tong.
There was half a chance of being in danger and accident. Even on the way back, he went up to the house to take out the ladder to intercept and kill Zhao Tong. Xiao Min was almost dead next to Zhao Tong, but in order to get rid of Zhao Tong, Yelu Dashi didn't care at all.
So, this is not a good match!
What's more, Zhao Tong squinted his eyes and remembered that he had kissed Xiao Min in the bungalow in Huining Village. It was the first time in his life...
Yue Fei said at this time: "Senior brother, since we are friends getting married, why didn't I see you bring a gift?"
Zhao Tong smiled slightly: "I'm not here to congratulate her on her wedding."
Yue Fei was stunned when he heard this: "Then what are you going to do, senior brother?"
Zhao Tong said leisurely: "I went to persuade her not to get married..."
(End of chapter)
