Zhao Kaishan couldn't help but feel a little excited when he thought that his plan could be executed smoothly.
He felt that this was the best decision he had made in a long time, and it could even help him turn things around in one fell swoop, change his current dangerous situation, reunite people's hearts, and start the next stage of his journey.
Correspondingly, Su Yonglin's prestige will be suppressed to a certain extent.
How wonderful?
When Zhao Kaishan was quite happy, the news came that Su Yonglin asked him to meet.
Coming so soon?
Zhao Kaishan didn't have time to think about why Su Yonglin came so quickly, but it didn't matter. As long as he met him, he could start his own operation.
So he immediately agreed to meet Su Yonglin.
Su Yonglin made an appointment with Zhao Kaishan to meet at the midpoint between the city and Zhao Kaishan's military camp to ensure the safety of both parties. He also agreed to bring fewer guards and just chat and talk to each other.
He placed a table there, prepared several side dishes, and a jug of wine, preparing to eat and talk with Zhao Kaishan.
He didn't think there was anything that couldn't be discussed at this stage.
Indeed, the two of them had not seen each other for several months since the division of troops. They must have accumulated a lot of misunderstandings. It would be good to take this opportunity to resolve them a little.
He wanted to see what Zhao Kaishan was thinking and what his intentions were. If it was just to divert the conflict and wanted Su Yonglin to act in a scene with him, then Su Yonglin wouldn't mind acting in a scene with Zhao Kaishan.
After all, Zhao Kaishan still needs to continue to exist as a buffer between him and the Southern Song Dynasty.
Su Yonglin doesn't want to deal with the Southern Song Dynasty for the time being, especially since he is still carrying the fate of the Southern Song Dynasty bureaucrats. If someone who is interested knows about this, the situation may change.
It's not a good feeling to be facing enemies on both sides.
In order to dominate Shandong's interests, Zhao Kaishan has not let the Southern Song Dynasty know about Su Yonglin's existence and status. This is indeed an unexpected blessing. How else can we say that it is a blessing in disguise?
Let’s talk about it.
At noon on April 19, Su Yonglin and Zhao Kaishan, former brothers, finally met again.
When he saw Zhao Kaishan again, Su Yonglin found that Zhao Kaishan seemed a little haggard, with sunken eye sockets, large dark circles, dull skin, and a few silver strands in the black hair at the temples. He was obviously aging to the naked eye. .
It seems that he has been very tired recently and has not managed his body properly.
And Su Yonglin's body is twice as delicious as the delicious food. He is still full of energy, with thick black hair and shining eyes. This energy and spirit are completely different from Zhao Kaishan.
Zhao Kaishan himself can feel this difference.
Standing face to face with Su Yonglin even made him feel ashamed.
Looking at the dozens of elite guards he brought and the only five guards Su Yonglin had, it was obvious at a glance who had more confidence.
Of course, it’s not certain whether both sides have backup options.
But no matter what, his dignity did not allow him to show his cowardice.
He is the leader of the Liberation Army, and he is here to challenge his subordinates!
So he held on to his strength, asked the guards to wait far away like Su Yonglin, and walked to the dining table prepared by Su Yonglin.
The two stood opposite each other.
Su Yonglin smiled broadly.
"Brother, you're fine."
"You're welcome and safe."
Zhao Kaishan sneered: "After a few months of separation, our Commander-in-Chief Su is really very different from a few months ago. He is more generous, and he has a lot more confidence to speak in front of me. I don't know that besides these five people behind him, there are also Are tens of thousands of people in the army waiting to be ready?"
Su Yonglin didn't mind what Zhao Kaishan said with his sword between his arms.
"Hahahaha, brother has said it before. I am still a hussar general of the Liberation Army, but my subordinates want me to be the commander-in-chief. I can't help it. It's all what the subordinates said. Brother, isn't this commander-in-chief also recommended by his subordinates? We Same."
Su Yonglin pushed back his words without hesitation, which made Zhao Kaishan a little angry.
But Su Yonglin didn't give him a chance to have an attack.
"Please take a seat. I have prepared some good wine and food here. No matter what differences we brothers have, we can always drink and eat at the same table, right?"
Zhao Kaishan looked at the wine bottle on the table and a few side dishes that suited his appetite, pursed his lips, and sat down with a straight face in front of Su Yonglin.
Su Yonglin smiled, then sat down, then picked up the wine bottle, raised his hand to pour a glass of wine for Zhao Kaishan, poured another glass of wine for himself, and then raised the glass.
"I don't usually drink, but when I meet my brother again, I feel so happy that I must have a drink. What do you think, brother?"
Zhao Kaishan remained motionless with a sullen face and did not reply.
He wanted to use silence to put pressure on Su Yonglin and let Su Yonglin know his anger.
Su Yonglin wasn't angry either. He reached out and took the wine glass in front of Zhao Kaishan, touched it with his left and right hands, and drank together.
"It seems that brother is not in the mood to drink today, so forget it, stop drinking, and eat vegetables."
Su Yonglin took a piece of mutton and put it in Zhao Kaishan's bowl, and said with a smile: "I remember many meats, but my brother likes mutton the most. I asked the chef who is good at making mutton to cook this mutton carefully. The juice is rich and fragrant, and it is absolutely delicious. Brother, give it a try."
Zhao Kaishan looked at the brightly colored piece of braised mutton in front of him. He still didn't move his chopsticks, but looked at Su Yonglin expressionlessly.
He wanted to continue to put pressure on Su Yonglin, make him feel uncomfortable, and then expose his flaws.
Su Yonglin did not wait for Zhao Kaishan's reply, and was not annoyed. He took a piece of mutton and put it in his mouth to chew, then showed an expression of enjoyment.
"It's delicious, it's really delicious. I rarely enjoyed the deliciousness of mutton when I was in the South. It was expensive and rare. Except for Lin'an, mutton is rarely seen in other places. When I come to the North, I naturally have to enjoy the mutton. Brother, hurry up. Eat it while it's hot, it won't taste good when it's cold."
Saying this, Su Yonglin ate three pieces in a row, and Mei's eyes narrowed to a slit.
Su Yonglin, who usually ate from the big pot in the military camp with the soldiers, seldom ate these carefully prepared dishes, so when he ate them occasionally, he found them particularly delicious.
Everyone likes delicious food. Su Yonglin can live a simple life, but that doesn't mean he doesn't like delicious food at all.
Seeing Su Yonglin enjoying the meal and not caring about his attitude at all, Zhao Kaishan really couldn't hold back his anger.
Was his silent pressure ineffective?
So he spoke first.
"You invited me here just to drink and eat mutton? Don't you have anything else to say? If you just invite me to drink and eat mutton, where can't I eat it? But here!"
"Anything else?"
Su Yonglin smiled: "That depends on my brother. Why did my brother bring his troops to my place in person, pretending to be aggressive and asking for punishment?
We had agreed earlier that I would go north and my brother would go west. Why is this so? Brother, we are all the Liberation Army and the anti-Jin rebels. My brother’s actions are quite suspected of internal fighting. "
"Infighting? Huh! You know better than me what this is all about."
Zhao Kaishan finally got to the point. He felt relieved and immediately said with a serious face: "What is going on with Zhao Zuoliang? Please explain it to me. I want your explanation."
"It's very simple. I want to get married, and my father-in-law is willing to betroth his daughter to me. It's that simple."
Su Yonglin said with a smile: "After all, I am twenty-one years old. I have no other relatives at home. I am all alone. Even my subordinates can't stand it. They hope that I can get married. How can I live up to their expectations?" Woolen cloth?"
"Simple?"
Zhao Kaishan slapped the table and said angrily: "Zhao Zuoliang is a member of my Zhao clan, and his daughter is also a member of my Zhao clan. I am the leader of the Zhao clan, but I know nothing about this matter!
Neither you nor Zhao Zuoliang discussed such a big matter with me or approved it. Is this matter simple? ! To put it more seriously, this is rebellion! "
Su Yonglin smiled.
"Brother, what you said is wrong. Marriage is a matter of parents' order and the matchmaker's words. It has always been the parents' decision. What does it have to do with the clan leader? My brother is so strict when he is in charge of the family? He even decides on the marriage of his children?"
Zhao Kaishan was stunned.
"I...I should know! How could I not know about this kind of thing?!"
"Now brother knows."
Su Yonglin picked up another piece of mutton and put it into his mouth, chewing it slowly, with a calm and unconcerned look on his face.
Zhao Kaishan took a deep breath and suppressed the anger in his heart.
"So what if I say I don't agree?"
"Brother, this is your fault. Before the marriage was finalized, you never said you would not allow Zhao and me to marry."
Su Yonglin sighed, shook his head and said: "Since I didn't say it was not allowed before, then my father-in-law and I have agreed to get married, so it is allowed and it is in line with etiquette and law. Since it is in line with etiquette and law, it is normal.
But now my brother says this is not allowed. Our marriage process has been completed and we are just waiting to hold the wedding. What does this mean? This is going back on one's word, brother. No matter where it goes, no one will agree with it. "
"But at least let me know before! As the leader of the clan, don't I even have this power?"
Zhao Kaishan said angrily.
"Of course it does."
Regarding this point, Su Yonglin really had nothing to say. His status as the patriarch of the Zhao Kaishan family really made him helpless.
The family patriarch does have great power to deal with all matters of the clan, such as family disputes, weddings and funerals, and large matters such as ancestor worship, temple management, etc. Therefore, Zhao Kaishan does have a say in matters such as marriage.
But Su Yonglin was right. Zhao Kaishan did not explicitly prohibit the marriage between the Zhao clan and Su Yonglin. It was a bit unreasonable to wait until the marriage process was almost completed before jumping out and saying no.
Not to mention that Zhao Kaishan is now forcing troops to fight for marriage, which can only make people think that he has other agendas.
Of course he had other plans.
If Su Yonglin's marriage partner was someone else, he wouldn't react so much, and might even give her a gift as a token of appreciation to ease the conflict between the two parties.
But the other party was Zhao Zuoliang, who had assisted him for decades and had a deep relationship. Zhao Zuoliang suddenly left without saying goodbye, married his daughter to Su Yonglin, and defected to Su Yonglin with his family. This could easily make people feel that this was a betrayal.
Of course, Su Yonglin was also unkind. He took Zhao Zuoliang's family away without letting Zhao Kaishan know about it, and only informed Zhao Kaishan after the incident happened. It was a bit of a rogue style of getting on the bus first and paying for the tickets later.
Zhao Kaishan was indeed angry at first, but then he calmed down and realized that this matter was unusual.
Who Zhao Xirui marries is not the most important thing, but this matter gives Zhao Kaishan, who is in a political crisis, an opportunity to solve the crisis. This is very important.
Another point is that Zhao Zuoliang knows too many things. Zhao Kaishan doesn't know how many things Zhao Zuoliang has told Su Yonglin. There are some things he doesn't want Su Yonglin to know.
He must use this to make a big fuss, seize the loopholes in Su Yonglin's style of getting on the bus first and paying for the ticket later, and criticize him, so as to gain the upper hand on the level of feudal etiquette.
This can achieve the effect of stopping losses and even get some additional compensation.
Now that Su Yonglin admitted his problem, Zhao Kaishan, who didn't want to continue talking in circles, couldn't wait to get straight to the point.
He spoke in a low voice.
"You know very well that Zhao Zuoliang is my important assistant. His whole family defecting to you is tantamount to betraying me. How can I endure such a thing?"
Su Yonglin looked surprised at this.
"My father-in-law had been dismissed from his position in the army and at home by his elder brother before he defected to me. He is a free man. Who does he defect to? What does it have to do with my elder brother? Is this also going to be controlled by my elder brother?"
"Su Yuting, don't beat around the bush with me, you know what I care about!"
Zhao Kaishan pursed his lips and stared at Su Yonglin with his eyes full of anger.
Su Yonglin felt that Zhao Kaishan was no longer patient, so he stopped talking in circles with him and laughed.
"My brother secretly negotiated the scope of authority with the Song Dynasty court in the south but never told Brother Ziyi and me, right? I heard that my brother assigned my defense area and Brother Ziyi's defense area to his own people, and the official positions and seals were prepared. Just waiting to take office.
Brother, I didn’t say that to you, but you also said that my father-in-law betrayed you. If you did such a thing yourself, wouldn’t it be a betrayal of me and my sworn brother? It was you who betrayed us first. "
Zhao Kaishan's pupils shrank and he gritted his teeth in hatred.
He really said it!
Damn it!
Mixed with anger and embarrassment, Zhao Kaishan slammed the table and became furious.
“This is unreasonable!!!”
