In mid-June of the first year of Shaoxing, the imperial court appointed Xu Fu, the right-hand admonishment official, as the chief envoy, and Gao Shize, the privy minister, as the deputy envoy, went to Xiangyang to comfort him. The road was not peaceful, so the two of them were careful and did not reach Xiangyang until late July.
Wang Xiao led the officials to welcome them out of the city and took them to Xiangyang City.
We sat down in the Yamen and served tea. Wang Xiaolie said: "The journey was bumpy, which made you tired."
Xu Fu smiled bitterly: "It's really not peaceful now, there are so many bandits, so the road will be particularly difficult."
After speaking, he took a sip of tea. Then he said: "Passing through Ezhou on the way, Kong Yanzhou heard that we were coming to Xiangyang and stayed for many days. Why didn't he let us go? After asking again and again, he said that the imperial court had granted a reward to the governor. Did he have it? Alas -"
Wang Xiaolie smiled but did not answer.
Recently, Zhang Yong, Li Cheng, and Kong Yanzhou were causing trouble in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, even destroying prefectures and counties, and the court was unable to do anything for the time being. Kong Yanzhou recently occupied Ezhou. He had a large territory, a lot of money and food, and his disobedience was particularly obvious.
Passing through these places is actually life-threatening. These people are not rebelling in name, but in fact they are rebelling. Disobeying the orders of the imperial court, if there was a profit to be made, they would invade local prefectures and counties and plunder wantonly. The imperial court sent Zhang Jun as the chief general to pacify the situation, but there was no decisive victory yet.
From Liangzhe to Xiangyang, the land in between was a mess. If the imperial court wants to send someone here, it will not be easy without a large army to protect them.
After resting for a while, Xu Fu took out the imperial edict and ordered Wang Xiaolie to receive it.
Wang Xiaolie was the Shaobao of the inspection school, the founding son of Changshe County, and the military governor of Zhen'an. He had 500 households in the city and 200 households in the real estate. He was promoted from the governor of Xiangyang Prefecture and Deng Ruzhou Town of Tang Dynasty to the southwestern road system of Beijing. Set envoy.
The establishment of a festival was the highest honor for military generals in the Song Dynasty. The process was complicated and was not just a matter of an imperial edict. It took a long time to complete the formalities.
The title of Shaobao, the founder of the country, and the title of Shiyi are the official titles that must accompany the establishment of a festival, and are not important. The most important thing for Wang Xiaolie is that in addition to establishing the festival, he is no longer the governor of Xiangyang and Dengzhou, but has become the governor of the system. It sounds like there is no promotion in official position, but it actually means a lot.
To the imperial court, the governor was a vassal, but actually an outsider. Although the power is nominally great, it is restricted everywhere. The Zhizhi envoy is different. The territory he oversees is larger than that of the Zhenfu envoy, and his name is justifiable. Of course, there are also great restrictions from the court, which has advantages and disadvantages.
Wang Xiaolie accepted the edict, and several people sat down to talk.
Xu Fu said: "I wonder when Jieshuai was born? I remember he was not very old."
Wang Xiaolie said: "I was born in the second year of Xuanhe, and I am twenty-two years old."
Xu Fu said: "It is rare in history to establish a festival at the age of twenty-two. When the world was in turmoil, Commander Ji led the rebel army, regained the important territory of Xiangyang, and defeated the Jin army in a row. It can be said that he has made great contributions to the country. The Holy One received the news about Commander Commander, I always praise him every time I hit the knot. I only hate the generals under my command, because few of them are as handsome as the commander."
Gao Shize said: "Commander Jie is now guarding the road. He has a high official position and a large number of soldiers. He is the pillar of the imperial court. Such a good general, the Holy Master often laments that he cannot see it with his own eyes. If there is peace on the road, Commander Jie can choose the opportunity to go to the palace and travel to various states. Mr. Mian.”
Wang Xiaolie said: "It's a pity that the road is really not peaceful now. Moreover, I am busy with military affairs, so I'm afraid I won't be able to find time for a while. July is in flames, and autumn is coming soon. Dengzhou is pretending to be Qi, and it is necessary to take measures to prevent autumn. Can’t leave.”
After hearing this, Xu Fu and Gao Shize looked at each other and shook their heads slightly. They spent so much effort and took so many risks, and the most important task was to get Wang Xiaolie to go to the palace. As long as he left Xiangyang, Wang Xiaolie's great ability could only be left to the disposal of the court. But depending on Wang Xiaolie's intention, this matter may not be easy.
Wang Xiaolie was not stupid, so how could he leave his homeland to meet Zhao Gou? I never planned what kind of high-ranking officials and titles Zhao Gou could give me, and I had to fight for everything myself.
To be honest, Zhao Gou is not mean to his subordinates. Although there were misdeeds of killing Chen Dong and Ouyang Che, generally speaking, they would not kill their ministers. Except for the Miao and Liu mutiny, the only general who has been killed is Fan Qiong. Fan Qiong was full of misdeeds and deserved his death. No one would feel it was a pity. But Wang Xiaolie knew that this was not because Zhao Gou was merciful, but because he had a clear mind and knew what not to do.
Without this ability, Zhao Gou could not quickly stabilize the situation, and finally secured half of the country. When the situation permits and Zhao Gou is able to be ruthless, there will never be any hesitation. For example, Yue Fei.
After drinking tea for a while, Xu Fu said: "Commander Jie, you have never met the Holy One since you took charge of the army. The general is leading the troops, how is this okay? When Ezhou is settled and the roads are clear, it is better to go to the palace to thank the Holy One in person."
Wang Xiaolie said: "The advice is true. When the road is smoothed out and the military affairs here are not so busy, I will naturally go to the palace."
Xu Fu had no choice but to rest, and he and Gao Shi went to the place arranged later.
When the two went out, Chen Yuyi said: "The generals are proud to establish the festival. The commander-in-chief established the festival at the age of more than 20 years old, which was unprecedented in the previous dynasty. The court gave this honor to the commander-in-chief, and he really should go to the palace to express his gratitude. Commander-in-Chief How unbecoming it is to be surrounded by a large number of troops and have never seen the emperor!"
Wang Xiaolie looked at Chen Yuyi and said calmly: "The reason why I can establish a festival is because I have a hundred thousand soldiers. Once I leave Xiangyang and the hundred thousand soldiers are not around, why should I establish a festival? At that time, even life and death mattered. It’s in human hands.”
Chen Yuyi thought for a while and felt helpless. He said: "What Commander Jie said is true, I think it is simple. But for us ministers, it always feels unreasonable to receive such a heavy reward and not go to the palace to express gratitude. However, once Xiangyang leaves Commander Ji, things will be really difficult to say."
After saying that, his face looked ugly and he stood there in a daze.
Wang Xiaolie knew that Chen Yuyi was a traditional bureaucrat, and he couldn't change his mind. Rationally, Chen Yuyi also knew that it was not a good thing for Zhao Gou to send Wang Xiaolie to the palace. But emotionally, I still feel that it is an honor for a minister to go to the palace, so how can I refuse it.
Wang Ruohai said: "Many of the ways in which the commander-in-chief governs the place are different from what the imperial court is used to. When these things are reported to the imperial court, who knows what others will say? Going to the palace at this time is more dangerous than good! It is best to wait for the place to be calmed down and the imperial court to control the festival. Shuai has no doubts, let’s talk about going to the palace.”
Wang Xiaolie said: "Whether the court has doubts or trusts, we don't care about it. Now everything is busy, the military is facing the fall, and many civil affairs have only begun. How can I go ahead? This is not a false statement, but a fact. .”
Chen Qiudao said: "Others only look at how Commander-in-Chief looks in the eyes of the court, but in the eyes of Commander-in-Chief, the most important thing is how he looks in the eyes of the people. This truth is very simple, and there is nothing difficult to understand. No matter what No matter what the court thinks, it is not suitable to go to the palace in a short time."
Wang Xiaolie nodded. He said to Chen Yuyi: "You and Xu Fu are old acquaintances. Please accompany him for walks these days, visit the mountains and rivers of Xiangyang, and eat Xiangyang's delicacies. They have worked hard on the road, so don't suffer in Xiangyang. If you have anything to say, Xu Fu When asked, just tell the truth. A real man is born between heaven and earth. He should behave uprightly and sit firmly. There is nothing to hide from him."
Chen Yuyi handed over his hand. Said: "I understand. But, there are some things that are not suitable to be discussed, right?"
Wang Xiaolie said: "That's your business. If you think it's suitable to talk about it, you can talk about it. If you don't think it's suitable to talk about it, don't talk about it. Isn't that how it is with friends?"
Chen Yuyi nodded, somewhat understanding and somewhat confused.
