At that time, Song Jiang was preparing to take his younger brother Song Qing back to his hometown in Yuncheng to visit relatives. Suddenly, he received an imperial edict from Emperor Huizong, announcing that Song Jiang would immediately enter the palace to pay an audience.
Song Jiang received the order and followed the officer who announced it, nervously all the way to the main hall of the palace.
In front of the main hall, the announcer stopped. Song Jiang also stopped. The announcer turned to Song Jiang and said, "Song's envoy will wait a moment until I enter the palace to report to the Holy One."
Song Jiang replied: "I will obey the order." Immediately, Song Jiang stopped and stood outside the palace door, waiting for the summoning officer to report to the Holy Spirit and announce the summons.
The summoner entered the hall and saw Cai Jing, Tong Guan, Wang Fu, Gao Qiu, Yang Jian, Xu Bingzhe and others standing in the hall. Then he walked from the middle of the train to the dragon chair of Emperor Huizong, bent down and reported to Emperor Huizong: "Your Majesty, Song Jiang Yingxuan has arrived, and he is now waiting for an audience outside the palace gate."
When Emperor Huizong heard the news, he said: "Since the Song Dynasty's pacifying envoy has arrived, please announce it as soon as possible."
The announcer immediately left the palace and summoned Song Jiang to enter the palace.
When Song Jiang heard the announcement, he hurried in without even daring to look up. He knelt down on the ground with a "pop" and repeated the old trick. He stretched his hands as far forward as possible, touched the ground with his palms, and stuck his butt high, even He kowtowed three times and exclaimed exaggeratedly: "Long live my emperor! Long live! Long live my emperor! I, Song Jiang, have been ordered to enter the palace and listen to the sacred message."
When Wang Fu, Tong Guan and others standing nearby saw it, they all felt dissatisfied and said to themselves: "This guy was very arrogant when he rebelled, but now he is pretending to be loyal and filial. He is very good at acting. Look at that humility, you are better at pretending than me."
Emperor Huizong, who was sitting on the dragon chair in the hall, saw this, bowed slightly, and said softly: "Song's governor, please don't pay such a big courtesy, and you can get away without paying any courtesy."
Song Jiang heard that Emperor Huizong asked him to level up, so he got up, lowered his head, and squinted to both sides. He saw Cai Jing, Tong Guan, Wang Fu, Gao Qiu, Yang Jian, Xu Bingzhe and others standing on both sides, and felt a little confused.
Song Jiang took a few steps back and stood next to Xu Bingzhe.
Song Jiang glanced sideways at the people present again, quickly lowered his eyebrows, and stood obediently.
Song Jiang thought to himself, these people are all important ministers of the imperial court, and I am a newly appointed foreign official. I am not qualified to go to court with them. Now, these ministers are all in the palace, and what does Emperor Huizong mean by announcing that I have come in?
Song Jiang was puzzled.
It turned out that the purpose of summoning Song Jiang to the palace this time was to understand the situation related to Yunbi, the envoy in front of the central hall of Fangla Kingdom. Therefore, when Emperor Huizong summoned Song Jiang, in addition to Xu Bingzhe who came to report the situation, he also summoned Cai Jing and Tong. Guan, Wang Fu, Gao Qiu, Yang Jian and others entered the palace to discuss the matter of arresting the remnants of Fang La who had sneaked into the capital, so these sycophants all stood on the side of the main hall.
On the dragon throne, Emperor Huizong said: "Messenger of the Song Dynasty, you have led the army to conquer Fangla this time, and you have done a great job for your hard work. I am very pleased. Because you asked for leave to visit relatives, I have given you permission, and you should not be disturbed. However, due to changes in circumstances, Therefore, I invite you to enter the palace and ask a few questions."
Hearing this, Song Jiang stepped out of the queue, bent down and replied, "Your Majesty, Song Jiang is listening to the question."
Huizong said: "A few days ago, you led your army southward, destroying everything along the way, and went straight to Fangla's old nest, Bangyuan Cave, and captured the rebel traitor Fangla. Needless to say, there were twists and turns in the process. Let me ask you, there is a person in Fangla's country. Do you know the captain in front of the palace named Yunbi?"
Song Jiang was shocked when he heard this.
Song Jiang secretly thought to himself, Yunbi, the envoy in front of the palace in Fangla Kingdom, is my brother Yanqing. How could I not know about this? !
After breaking through Yuandong, Fangla's lair, captured the leader of the bandit Fang La, pacified the Jiangnan rebels, and reported the details to the court, Song Jiang encountered Chai Jin and Yan Qing, who infiltrated Fangla's lair to spy on the military. Chai Jin was recruited as Fangla's consort and Yun Qing. The fact that Bi was granted the title of Fengwei was not reported to the court truthfully.
The reason why Song Jiang reported the situation truthfully was not to conceal the achievements of Chai Jin and Yan Qing, but because he had concerns.
At that time, when they invaded Yuantong, Fangla's old lair, Ruan Xiaoer wore Fang La's dragon robe out of play. He was accidentally caught by the general Wang Zhen. He was furious and scolded Ruan Xiaoer for not knowing respect and being a thief. Want to rebel? !
Ruan Xiaoer, nicknamed the Living King of Hell, was a fiery man. At that time, he jumped off his horse, tore Wang Zhen apart, and punched him. If other generals nearby had not stopped him, the trouble would have been out of control.
Because of this matter, Song Jiang was worried.
Song Jiang thought to himself, Ruan Xiaoer is a playful person who does things without any intention, just for fun. If he wears the lower-layered dragon robe, he will be accused of being a traitor and intending to rebel; then Chai Jin will become Fang La's consort. , Yan Qing has also become Fang La's lieutenant. If the court finds out about this, wouldn't it cause big trouble? ! If the court pursues the case in the future, wouldn't it mean that the future of my two brothers, Chai Jin and Yan Qing, has been missed?
Because of this concern, Song Jiang concealed the plot of Chai Jin becoming Fang La's consort and Yan Qing being appointed Fang La's lieutenant.
Now, when Emperor Huizong asked about the envoy Yunbi in front of Fangla Palace, Song Jiang knew that the rumor must have reached Huizong's ears. Obviously, the matter could no longer be concealed and he could only state it truthfully.
So Song Jiang hurriedly knelt on the ground, kowtowed to Emperor Huizong three times, and said loudly: "Your Majesty, the process of conquering Fangla is complicated and complicated, and I can't explain it clearly at the moment."
Seeing this, Cai Jing next to him turned to look at Song Jiang who was kneeling on the ground, and said in a weird voice: "Song Ansuo, what is there in this world that is so complicated that it cannot be explained clearly? Song Ansu must have some plot twists. Do you want to hide it?"
When Song Jiang heard this, he became even more panicked. He kowtowed to Emperor Huizong three more times, turned to look at Cai Jing and said, "It is clear from my kindness that Song Jiang has been upright and selfless throughout his life. He deserves to be worthy of heaven and earth. He has no hidden intentions." heart of."
This Cai Jing was used again by Emperor Huizong not long ago due to the Jiangnan Civil War. Wang Fu, who originally replaced Cai Jing as prime minister, was first dismissed from his post because he concealed the situation of the Jiangnan Civil War and was later appointed as Dazai, that is, the prime minister's deputy.
After Song Jiang finished speaking, he turned to Emperor Huizong and said: "Your Majesty, at that time I was leading troops to attack Hangzhou City. Because our army suffered heavy losses, we could not capture it for a while. Therefore, Chai Jin and Yan Qing, in order to spy on the military situation and understand Geography, asked to sneak into Fang La's lair, and their request was granted. Chai Jin and Yan Qing disguised themselves as scholars and servants from the Central Plains, and sneaked into Bangyuan Cave. In order to paralyze Fang La, Chai evolved into Ke Yin and was recruited as Fang's thief's son-in-law. ; Yan Qing changed his name to Yunbi and was named Fengwei of the Prince Consort's Mansion. Although the two of them were in the lair of the Fang thief and nominally became the Fang thief's consort and Fengwei, they never forgot to be loyal to the court for a moment. Your Majesty, the army is attacking the gang. When they were at Yuandong, they encountered Fang Jie, the most powerful general of the Fang bandits. It was Chai Jin and Yan Qing who joined forces to kill Fang Jie and led the army to attack Yuandong. Your Majesty, Chai Jin and Yan Qing not only had no faults, they were actually He is a great hero."
After listening to Song Jiang's words, Emperor Huizong understood the whole story and said with a smile: "I'm sorry, sir. In my opinion, Chai Jin and Yan Qing disguised themselves skillfully and broke into Fang La's lair. In order to paralyze Fang La, they were recruited Being a consort and serving as a lieutenant is a wartime strategy, and it is not an exaggeration. However, where is the Yunbi serving as a lieutenant now? They are all meritorious ministers, and I have already canonized them. How come I hear about that again? Did Lieutenant Yun Feng sneak into the capital?"
Song Jiang got up and replied: "On the way to the triumphal return of the army, Yan Qing left without saying goodbye. As for why Yan Qing sneaked into the capital, I really don't know."
Next to him, Tong Guan looked at Song Jiang and asked: "Song's ambassador, it is reported that Fang La's daughter has sneaked into the capital, set up a ring, and competed in martial arts to recruit brides. Let me ask you, the one who recruited Chai Jin to be the consort was Fang La. Thief this woman?"
Song Jiang heard this and replied to Tong Guandao: "Report to Privy Council Tong. The Fang thief has two daughters, one named Jinzhi and one named Yinzhi. The one who recruited Chai Jin as his consort was the Fang thief's eldest daughter Jinzhi. When they broke through Bangyuan Cave , then Jin Zhi took advantage of the chaos and hanged himself. If there is a daughter of Fang Thief who sneaked into the capital, set up an arena, and competed to attract a bride, it must be Yin Zhi, Fang Thief's second daughter."
Tong Guan said again: "Qucai, Xu Fuyin sent a policeman to capture Fang La's daughter. A man who claimed to be Fengwei Yunbi in front of Fangla's palace stabbed the policeman in the street and the whole gang escaped. Now it seems that Yun Feng The captain is your general Yan Qing?"
When Song Jiang heard this, he was dumbfounded and didn't know how to answer.
Upon seeing this, Emperor Huizong hurriedly said: "If it is as the Song appeasement envoy said, those who infiltrated the capital are not a large group of people, but actually a few remnants who slipped through the net. From this point of view, it is not a big deal. Xu Aiqing and Gao Aiqing should work together to Try to catch it.”
Xu Bingzhe and Gao Qiu hurriedly walked out of the class, bowed and replied: "I obey your order!"
Huizong continued: "The envoy of Song Dynasty has taken leave to visit relatives. When do you plan to leave?"
Song Jiang replied: "I was about to leave, but your Majesty called me, so I came here."
Huizong said: "Even so, I will hold a banquet in the palace to see off the Song Dynasty envoy."
Hearing this, Song Jiang knelt on the ground again, bursting into tears, and cried: "Your Majesty, I have so much virtue and talent for you, Song Jiang. I am deeply grateful for receiving such great love. Long live my emperor! Long live! Long live!"
Huizong said: "The Song appeasement envoys are loyal and brave people, and they should be so."
At present, Huizong kept Song Jiang in court and held a special banquet to see Song Jiang off.
After retiring from the court, Gao Qiu and Xu Bingzhe returned to their homes to arrange for the arrest of Fang La's remnants.
After Cai Jing, Wang Fu, Tong Guan, and Yang Jian went to court, they followed Cai Jing to the Prime Minister's Mansion to discuss matters.
In the prime minister's house, the servants offered tea to the four sycophants and then left.
Yang Jian took a sip of tea and said to Cai Jing, Wang Fu and Tong Guan: "The two ministers and ministers are here. I have something to say. I don't know whether I should say it or not?"
Cai Jing smiled and said: "Why are Taiwei Yang so polite? What is our relationship? This is the Prime Minister's Mansion. We are all acquaintances. We chat in private. Is there anything I shouldn't say? Taiwei Yang just talks."
Yang Jian heard the words and said: "Thank you for your kindness. I think that Song Jiang was formerly a Luocao bandit. Although he was successful in conquering Fangla, he had a criminal record after all. Now, it is not a good idea for the court to grant Song Jiang high-ranking officials and enjoy generous salaries. Besides, , even the Holy One held a special banquet to see him off, which shows that he was highly praised."
When Cai Jing heard this, he stroked his beard with his hand and said nothing with a smile.
Yang Jian continued: "Currently, the Holy One has a high regard for Song Jiang and treats Song Jiang very well. Seeing that Song Jiang is very favored, this will send bad information to other thieves. Please be kind to me. Once you are a thief, If you are a thief all your life, you will not be able to give him a way out. Fang is the right strategy. If everyone gets a high official and a generous salary because of being a thief after falling into the grass, wouldn't everyone just fall into the grass and become a thief?"
When Cai Jing heard this, he nodded frequently, thinking it was right.
After Tong Guan pondered for a while, he continued: "Lieutenant Yang is overly worried. I think that Song Jiang suffered heavy casualties in order to win over Fang La. There are only a few generals under his command. I think he was originally a hundred and eight generals, and he was worthy of the stars. , with a huge momentum, and now most of them are dead and injured, with only about 20 people left. Presumably there will be no trouble, so there is nothing to worry about. If there are injustices, there are some. I and other ministers are diligent and conscientious. , dedicated his life to the imperial court, but seeing that he was not as well received as Song Jiang, who was recruited into peace at the end of his rope, I felt very unsatisfied."
Wang Fu looked at Tong Guan and said: "Privy Tong, Song Jiang's campaign to conquer Fangla is indeed a meritorious service, but Song Jiang's background is also worrying. If there is a recurrence of that guy, the imperial court will suffer huge losses. You and I are both high officials of the imperial court." , you should worry about the imperial court to prevent unexpected events."
Hearing this, Tong Guan looked at Wang Fu and asked, "Does what Dazai said mean that Song Jiang will rebel again? Song Jiang's conquest of Fang La is not due to his high strategy, but to the strength of his men. Now, Song Jiang is alone and alone. How can you dare to be a thief again when you are alone and unable to take care of yourself? According to Dazai's wishes, it is possible that Song Jiang..."
At this point, Tong Guan stopped talking, wiped his neck with his hand, and then looked at Wang Fu again.
Before Wang Fu spoke, Cai Jing said with a smile: "It's so troublesome to go into such a big fight over a mere Song Jiang?!"
Wang Fu then said: "What the Grand Master said is absolutely true. We have so many ways to deal with things, but why do we use so much trouble? Since the Emperor values Song Jiang, when he goes to court one day, we will coax the Emperor into saying, Give Song Jiang a bottle of imperial wine as a reward, and then everything will be settled, right?"
Upon hearing this, Cai Jing, Tong Yao and Yang Jian looked at each other and laughed.
After laughing, Tong Guandao said: "The bandits in Liangshan and the rebels in Fangla have been calmed down. Next, we will fully cooperate with the Jurchens to attack the Yanyun homeland occupied by the Khitan. By then, there will be no Song Jiang and his like to serve as the imperial court. Worked hard.”
Cai Jing said: "Privacy Tong is overthinking. As you just said, Song Jiang is only as strong as his subordinates. Now, there are only about 20 people under Song Jiang's subordinates, and they have all been sent to other places. When the time comes, Since there is something going on in the imperial court, and Song Jiang has no power to tie up a chicken, what can he do? What use is he to such a waste? Is it going to cause trouble if he puts it in front of his eyes? "
Wang Fu, Tong Guan, and Yang Jian nodded frequently when they heard this.
Cai Jing, Wang Fu, Tong Guan, and Yang Jian, while drinking tea, discussed bad ideas, waiting for Song Jiang's relatives to come back, risking his life.
In the evening of that day, Song Jiang stayed in the palace and was entertained by Emperor Huizong at a special banquet. He did not return until dark.
On the second day, Song Jiang and his younger brother Song Qing rode on a tall horse and were escorted by a group of sergeants. They set off from Tokyo and meandered northward. They returned to Yuncheng County, his hometown, where he had been forced to flee.
The magistrate of Yuncheng County and other officials heard that Song Jiang, a native of this county, the pacifier of Chuzhou, and the general manager of the military and horse capital, had returned home to visit his relatives, and they all went ten miles out of the city to welcome him.
When Song Jiang came to the border of Yuncheng, he saw local officials coming to greet him. He couldn't help but put on a show, hurriedly rolled off his saddle and dismounted, met with the officials and saluted.
All the officials couldn't help but put on a show, complimented Song Jiang well, and invited Song Jiang to the county government restaurant to entertain him.
Song Jiang was so proud of his spring breeze that there is no need to elaborate on his style.
That night, Song Jiang stayed in the county.
In the evening, Song Jiang changed his clothes, slipped out alone, and wandered around the street. Unconsciously, he came to the second floor of the small building where he and Yan Xijiao once lived.
In the small second floor, there is an orange light. Who is the person living inside? What kind of story will happen?
Looking at the orange light from the small second floor, thinking of the past, Song Jiang sighed and returned to the county office.
On the second day, Song Jiang got up early and marched to Songjiazhuang.
Then Song Jiang returned to Songjiazhuang, met his old father, met with all the villagers, burned some incense sticks on his ancestor's grave, and stayed in the village courtyard for a few days. Then he and his brothers bid farewell to Song Taigong, and each went to his office to take up his post. .
