July is hot, but in June, the weather gets cooler. Although it is still extremely hot during the day, there is a cool breeze in the morning and evening, which makes people feel refreshed.
Early that morning, Wang Xiao hunted to Yashu. After looking around for nothing, he went to the official hall to check the official documents.
The officials sent out to observe the public situation are about to return, and the school to train officials is about to be opened. There are a lot of things going on recently. Although the civil affairs were handed over to Chen Qiudao, such important matters must be reviewed by Wang Xiaolie. The newly recruited soldiers began to leave the new barracks one after another. The expansion of the army was slowly on the right track, and things were busy.
After watching for a long time, Wang Xiaolie felt dizzy. He stood up, walked to the yard, sat in the pavilion and rested for a while.
Just as he closed his eyes, Tongyan Gao Ying came in hurriedly. When he arrived outside the pavilion, he saw Wang Xiaolie resting and hesitated for a moment.
Hearing the footsteps, Wang Xiaolie opened his eyes. Seeing Gao Ying standing outside, he asked, "What's the matter with Tong Xuan?"
Gao Ying said: "The soldiers just came to report that Ma Kuo, the new governor of Henan Road, has arrived outside the city. I wonder how Xuan Fu will deal with it?"
Wang Xiaolie was startled and quickly stood up. After thinking for a while, he said: "You take his place in my place and pick him up into the city. We will arrange to live in the newly built reception place for officials. Remember to choose a separate small courtyard and don't neglect it. When Ma Kuo has arranged a place to live, take him with you. Come see me."
Gao Ying said yes and hurried out.
Gao Ying was a native of Henan Province and was a Jinshi in the sixth year of Xuanhe. After becoming a Jinshi, he lived idle and did not go out to serve as an official. The Jin army captured Luoyang, and Gao Ying took his family to escape the disaster in Songshan Mountain. Wang Xiaolie did not leave Songshan until he restored Luoyang. After training, he was appointed as the general judge of Henan Prefecture last month.
When he was in Xiangyang, people never regarded Wang Xiaolie as a regular soldier of the imperial court, and few Jinshi became officials. It was not until the occupation of Luoyang and the great victory of Shaanzhou that people's views slowly changed. Some Jinshi who had lived in seclusion among the people, as well as officials from the previous dynasty, were willing to come out and serve as officials.
Ma Kuo, courtesy name Zichong, was born in Di Dao, and was born in the martial arts examination in the eighth year of Zhenghe. At the turn of the Song Dynasty, Ma Kuang was sent to Jin and Liao Dynasties as envoys, and he was a man of the moment. Later, a rebel army was gathered in Wuma Mountain to fight against the Jin Dynasty, and he was elected as the leader of the rebel army in Hedong and Hebei. Later he failed and went south to Yangzhou. When Miao and Liu rebelled, Ma Kuo served as the Privy Councilor and acted on the orders of Prime Minister Zhu Shengfei to liaise with the rebels. After being implicated, he was demoted to Yongzhou for supervision. It was not until last year that he was conferred the title of Dr. Youwu and the Defense Envoy of Hezhou, and was allowed to do as he pleased.
With his status, Wang Xiaolie wanted to try his best to help a group of people who had contributed to the country. A few days ago, I signed a petition requesting Ma Kuo to serve at Hedong Road, which led to this appointment. In fact, here in Wang Xiaolie, those who lead troops generally do not care about civil affairs, and those who are in charge of civil affairs generally do not lead troops. Letting Ma Kuo come is just to give him a chance.
More than an hour later, Gao Ying led Ma Kuan into the Henan government office and met Wang Xiaolie in the living room.
Seeing a big man following Gao Ying, with a tall build and a resolute expression, Wang Xiaolie knew it was Ma Kuai. Said: "Defense comes from afar."
Ma Kuo handed over his hand: "It's only a few thousand miles away, but it's not hard work. Xuanfu sent his troops to the north, restored Xijing, and defeated the Jin army in a row. This is really the greatest military achievement since the Jin thieves invaded the south! When I was in Rongzhou, I I wonder what kind of person he is who can do such a big thing. When I saw him today, I didn’t expect Xuan Fu to be so young!"
Wang Xiaolie said: "It was just a fluke."
Ma Kuo laughed after hearing this: "I grew up in the army, and I have seen a lot of the Jin army's actions. Don't you know how difficult the battle in Shaanzhou is? How can it be a blessing to be able to kill more than 20,000 gold thieves in a formation?" Can you explain it clearly?"
Wang Xiaolie also laughed. Kuima said: "Defense gathered volunteers in Wuma Mountain. At that time, the world was shocked. Even the Jin people did not dare to underestimate defense. In the past few years, we have had bad luck and have really suffered. Now that we are on the front line again, we should fight hard. Yu Yong only serves the country."
Ma Kuo nodded and said: "Yes. A man born in heaven and earth, how can he remain unknown in the countryside! Xuanfu now has a hundred thousand tiger and wolf soldiers under his command, and he will go north to drive out the barbarians! Jin! A thief was born in a barren land, but he is just a man who eats hair and drinks blood. Taking advantage of the temporary difficulties in the Central Plains, he wreaks havoc on the world. How can I, a man like me, in the Central Plains, let him do what he wants! Today, we have Xuan Fu, which is really a blessing for all the people in the world!"
"Gangge in the Central Plains has been heard since ancient times. How can there be descendants who go against Hu's rule?" Wang Xiaolie silently recited a line from Lu You's poem and did not speak for a long time.
Before the Song Dynasty, wars between the Central Plains and the various ethnic groups in the north continued, and there were even times when the Five Husties invaded China and caused the mainland of China to sink. But the Song Dynasty was the first dynasty that allowed the northern peoples to unify the world and passed it down to later generations.
Future generations will never understand how such a thing could have happened. The territory is larger than the enemy, the population is larger than the enemy, and the national strength is stronger than the enemy. Why can't we defeat it? Moreover, there are many famous generals emerging at this time, and there is no shortage of talents.
It can only be said that there are many such magical things in history. The reason why it is amazing is that future generations do not understand this era. In fact, if we peel it off layer by layer, we can only say that the Song Dynasty was defeated as a matter of course. In this era, neither the king nor the ministers can escape their responsibilities.
He invited Ma Kuo to sit down, asked him about the situation on the road, and exchanged a few pleasantries. Wang Xiaolie said: "It is really hard work to defend yourself all the way. I will prepare a banquet for you tonight to catch the wind and wash away the dust. After the dust has been washed away, you can have a good rest these days."
Ma Kuo said: "The imperial court appointed me as the envoy to the south of Henan Road. Seeing what Xuanfu means, there is no need to rush to take office?"
Wang Xiaolie nodded: "There are many things here that are different from other places. You need to understand the defense before going to Hedong. To be honest, I have always advocated that the army should not care about the civil affairs, and the local officials should not care about the army. The recruitment envoys should be in charge of both the military and the civilians. It’s a little inconvenient.”
Ma Kuang said: "Now that we are here, everything is decided by Xuanfu. If I were another person, I would not say such a thing. But Xuanfu is different. During the Jingkang period, he rebelled against the King Qin and later occupied several states. Others are grabbing it. When the fight for territory, food, and money was fierce, Xuanfu gathered a hundred thousand troops, fought against the Jin army from time to time, and won consecutive battles. In today's world, Xuanfu can be called a true hero! "
Wang Xiaolie couldn't help but be stunned for a moment after hearing this.
I have been so busy these past few years that everything feels a little dull. Today, I suddenly heard someone calling himself a true hero, and I didn’t know how to answer.
Are you a hero? For so many years, Wang Xiaolie had never thought about this problem. But in retrospect, although I don't have those heroic deeds, my achievements exceed those of anyone who is called a hero.
Perhaps the real heroes of this world are not the heroes that people generally think of.
Seeing that Wang Xiao was in a trance, Ma Kuang said: "Xuanfu's deeds have spread all over the world. But I thought a lot, but I didn't expect that Xuanfu was so young. Perhaps heroes have been born in youth since ancient times, and only young Xuanfu can break those Follow the rules and make a difference!"
Wang Xiaolie shook his head and sighed. Said: "Looking back on these years, I have been cautious in doing things, walking on thin ice, for fear of doing something wrong. All heroes in the world are heroic, how can there be someone as cautious as me! Defense, too much."
Ma Kuo shook his head after hearing this: "Zhuge was only cautious in his life. How can a person who does big things not be cautious? It is precisely because Xuan Fu is cautious that he can accomplish those big things. If there are some generals who only think about majesty when doing things, in the end they only think about it. If you can draw water from a bamboo basket, you will get nothing.”
Wang Xiaolie nodded and couldn't help but smile.
After Ma Kuo was allowed to live freely, Zhang Jun wrote to him and invited him to his tent. Ma Kuo replied that since Liu Ziyu was in Zhang Jun's presence, he would not go. Before going to Wuma Mountain that year, Ma Kuo had a conflict with Liu Ziyu in Zhending Mansion. He was falsely accused of colluding with the Jin people and was thrown into prison. He almost lost his life. Ma Kuo still remembers this Liangzi from back then.
Ever since he led the troops, Wang Xiaolie had been guarding against Zhang Jun directly commanding him. Unexpectedly, Ma Kuo had the same idea as him. Zhang Jun was determined to fight against the Jin Dynasty, but he actually had no military ability. This kind of talent gave Wang Xiaolie a headache.
