Wang Erlang decisively refused, and he didn't want any county magistrate, military envoy, or bachelor. No matter how high his official position was, his own life was not important.
This was the trap the emperor had set for him. He was as witty as Wang Erlang, so how could he not see through it.
Zhong Hao then looked at him with some relief. He could keep his heart in the face of such temptation and not be swayed by power. He was indeed his nephew.
If he really left his uncle to bear the risk alone and became an official himself, then it would be impossible to say that he would be exterminated for justice today.
The envoy kept forcing him, Wang Erlang refused again and again, and his fist was about to hit the angel. Then he put away the imperial edict and took out the next edict in aggrieved manner.
This was an edict he received from his former envoy, and the content was to recall Zhong Hao and Wang Zhi back to Beijing to report on their duties.
Before leaving Bianjing, Zhao Ji told him mouth to mouth: If Wang Zhi accepts the order and follows you back to the capital, then there is no need to produce the summons. If he refuses to accept the order, then you must produce the summons.
Now, obviously, it's time to call the shots.
This is not an imperial decree of reward. If you refuse to accept the imperial decree of reward, you may be praised by scholars. However, the emperor's orders are like military orders. If you don't obey the orders, the angels have the right to behead you on the spot.
After the messenger read the summons, he stuffed it directly into Wang Zhi's hand without giving him a chance to react.
Wang Erlang was dumbfounded when he looked at the summons with several large seals and red seals in his hand. He had to return to the capital even if he accepted the imperial edict, and he had to return to the capital if he didn't accept it. So which edict did he refuse to accept...
Of course there were two copies of the summons, and one was also stuffed into Zhong Hao's hand by the messenger.
This thing doesn't just matter if you don't accept it, it has already taken effect from the moment the summons is read out.
The reward was gone, but the summons was still accepted.
The uncle and nephew looked at each other and said nothing.
"Angel, where is the imperial edict?" Wang Erlang rubbed his hands and smiled sarcastically.
"Put it away."
"Let me take a look."
"No!"
"Hey, don't, well... give it to you."
Wang Erlang released his big fist, took the imperial edict and took a good look at it, feeling happy in his heart.
The Founding County Duke may not sound domineering, but he is a real Duke. Even after the establishment of the Song Dynasty, there are only a few big bosses who have been granted the title of County Duke while they are still alive. After spending half his life, he was just an army military governor, but he was really a big official.
As for the direct bachelor of Longtuge, this is just an honorary title with no actual value. If he, a great scholar who founded a sect and became a saint, does not get a decent title, then his old Zhao family will also be criticized.
The most valuable among them is this humble Zhongshu Sheren. Although he is only the emperor's secretary, he is directly involved in national affairs. As long as nothing goes wrong, he will be able to enter the East and West mansions and rule the world in the future. .
But it was obvious that the Emperor of the Zhao family could not give him the opportunity to interfere in state secrets. If he thought about it, he would be trapped under his nose and restricted. This noble official should be regarded as whoever he likes.
Thinking of this, Wang Erlang pushed the imperial edict to the envoy again, "Forget it, no more, just take it and go back quickly. It's getting late, so I won't let you have dinner."
The envoy sorted out the imperial edict and said angrily: "Mr. Langya County, this is an imperial edict. How can I allow you to refuse it just when you want it?"
"If I say no, I won't. What do you want?" Wang Erlang said and raised his fist as big as a sandbag.
The envoy gave in. What could he do when he encountered such an unreasonable second generation ancestor? "You don't have to accept the imperial edict, but you have to follow me back to Beijing to report on my duties."
"Do you think I will follow you back to Beijing?"
Wang Erlang looked at him playfully, like a cat looking at a mouse.
"Okay, I'll go."
The envoy's scalp was numb from being stared at by him. The small bodies of the envoys were probably not big enough for this kid to punch them with his fist.
Anyway, the imperial edict and edict were delivered by himself, but the other party did not listen to the call. What could he, a small envoy, do? He could only go back to Beijing to report.
"Angel walks slowly."
Before the messenger could turn around, he was stopped by Zhong Hao, "The angel came from afar and left before entering the city for a cup of tea. Others are not trying to laugh at Zhong for his lack of etiquette."
The messenger quickly waved his hand and said: "Xie Tongpan has good intentions, but I have the emperor's mandate and cannot delay, so I'll say goodbye."
"I have ordered people to prepare a banquet, specially for the angel to receive the wind and wash away the dust. Could it be that the angel doesn't show some respect to me?"
As Zhong Hao spoke, he gestured with his eyes to both sides, and some soldiers calmly stepped forward to surround the envoy and his party.
Seeing this, the envoy was filled with grief. He openly resisted the edict and refused to be summoned. Now he was imprisoned, the angel who represented the emperor's will. The word 'rebellion' was written on the faces of these two uncles and nephews.
I couldn't leave today, and I couldn't even decide whether I could survive, so I simply accepted my fate, "Since Tong Fan is kind enough to invite you, I won't be respectful, please."
"please."
Zhong Hao returned to the city first, and Wang Zhi stepped forward and asked, "Uncle, why did you keep him?"
Zhong Hao whispered: "You are stupid, you can delay it for one day."
Wang Erlang said oh, and then the uncle and nephew had a secret discussion on how to deal with the imperial attack.
The messenger behind you was speechless. Can you two whisper so loudly? I pretended to hear you or not... It's so embarrassing.
The imperial envoy went to the border to give a reward and summoned him, but he never came back. Not even a message was sent back. This was a serious crime equivalent to treason. Now no one in the court dared to speak for Wang Zhi anymore.
If you say something bad, you are an accomplice. Who can withstand this? In line with the principle that dead Taoist friends will not die of poor Taoists, no matter how Gao Qiu and his faction criticize Wang Zhi in the court, the big bosses behind the Northwest Chamber of Commerce will all say this Not sent.
Therefore, the debate was concluded before it even started: Langya County Marquis Wangzhi and Zhenrong Army Tongjian Zhonghao were suspected of treason and must send troops to suppress and arrest him!
But who to send there...
When this issue was discussed, the noise in the court fell silent for a while, and even Gao Qiu, who was shouting the loudest, looked embarrassed.
All the main forces of the Song Dynasty are currently fighting against the Liao Kingdom in the north, and the most elite Western Army cannot be spared from going back and forth to the northwest to suppress the rebellion. Who can guarantee that the Western Army will not rebel along with Zhong Hao.
Zhong Hao himself is the core figure of the Western Army. The Zhong family has been working in the northwest for many years. No one knows how much power they can use. Leaving aside Zhong Hao, let’s just talk about Wang Zhi. That is, he can make three thousand to fifty thousand. A winning figure.
Who should be sent to quell the rebellion? How many troops should be brought to counter the rebellion? Who can quell the rebellion?
"Report..."
At this moment, there was a cry from outside the palace that attracted the attention of the officials.
The ministers looked outside and saw a messenger hurried up to the hall holding a memorial in his hands.
"Your Majesty, there is an urgent report coming from Xuanfu Division in Hebei Province."
The messenger walked to the hall and knelt down on one knee, holding the music in both hands above his head. A little Huangmen came down from the stage to take it and turned around and handed it to Zhao Ji.
The ministers looked at this scene with solemn expressions. This report was an 'urgent report' rather than a 'good report', indicating that something might have gone wrong in the Northern Expedition. The fact that it was handed over directly at such an important meeting showed how serious the situation was.
As expected, Emperor Zhao Ji fell directly to the ground after reading the report, his face turned red with anger and his body trembled.
Prime Minister Wang Fu stepped forward to pick up the report and read it, then passed it to the next governor of the East Palace with an expressionless face. After all the governors of the East and West Prefectures had read it, the court basically knew what happened.
Yanjing was defeated!
Guo Yaoshi led 8,000 elite soldiers to lead the way and attack the city. Liu Yanqing, the commander of the capital, personally led 100,000 troops to meet him. In the end, the success was unsuccessful. Only half of the 100,000 troops returned. All the supplies, food, soldiers and armor were discarded. From Yanjing to Xiongzhou The corpse lay buried for more than a hundred miles.
May! July! Now it’s September! Facing an enclave that even the Liao emperor had abandoned, the Song Dynasty suffered defeat after defeat.
A total of 200,000 troops went out to fight, but now only 50,000 troops were left to retreat to Xiongzhou.
The entire hall was quiet, and the monarchs and ministers were silent in tacit understanding. They were all digesting the fact that the Song Dynasty could no longer attack Yanjing and regain Yanyun.
This then led to another fact. The imperial army was seriously injured. How to suppress the rebellion of Zhong and Wang?
Can the Song Dynasty today be able to sustain a more violent civil strife than Song Jiang and Fang La?
Today's court meeting ended in a hurry. Zhao Ji barely stood firm with the support of the small yellow gates on both sides. The governors of the East and West Prefectures entered the inner hall in tacit agreement and without words.
Then an imperial decree departed from the inner hall and headed northwest.
When Wang Erlang and Zhong Hao saw that the reward was more generous than the previous imperial edict, they were completely dumbfounded.
When did promotion and promotion become so easy...
Zhong Hao's experience was even deeper, because this time there was not one imperial edict, but two. One of them was for him, and it was filled with a lot of words. If you look closely, there are only two words: promotion!
He was transferred to a large state in the south of the Yangtze River as the top magistrate.
It's pity that he is the second son of the Zhong family. After struggling in the officialdom for half his life, he can only serve as a judge in the first army. An official like him, who has neither fame nor military merit and only relies on the merits and kindness of his grandfathers, can basically become the second in command of the first army. It was announced that it was over. The governor of a state was something that was unthinkable in ordinary times. But now it was better. He just refused a summons and ascended to heaven directly.
Even though he seems to be a military general judge here with hands and eyes open to the sky, which is taking advantage of the family, in fact, this official is only the eighth-grade Di Gonglang, and although the Zhenrong Army is administratively on par with the state, However, the actual area under its jurisdiction is very small, less than the Trinity of ordinary states. Compared with the magistrate who holds the military and civilian financial power of a state, the difference is not small.
Today, he experienced the feeling of his nephew reading the imperial edict carefully word by word a few days ago and refusing to let go. He remembered that at that time, he secretly scolded him for being useless, but now...
"Nephew, look at this...or forget it."
"Yes, uncle, forget it, we don't care about this official. When we take down Xixia, are we still afraid that the court won't give us a bigger official?"
As Wang Erlang spoke, he threw the imperial edict in his hand directly to the angel without any hesitation.
When Wang Erlang tried to take the imperial edict from Zhong Hao's hand, he found that it was a little difficult. Even if he tried harder, it still wouldn't move at all.
"uncle?"
"Then...that...nephew, what my uncle means is, why don't we just forget about Xixia and let the court deal with it? You see, it's not easy for the court to be a family..."
