Wang Wentong packed his luggage with only a few clothes and a mule.
He left the house where he had stayed for several months, read a book on his mule, and headed for the city gate.
The streets were still in chaos. Jin soldiers occupied houses and looted businesses, making Suining City a mess and making it difficult for the people to live.
Wang Wentong was completely disappointed with the Jin Kingdom. Such a regime had no hope of turning around, and he would only be buried with him if he stayed.
At this time, he was riding a mule and his thoughts were flying. He had no intention of going to the Southern Song Dynasty. A northern Han like him would be asking for trouble if he went there. He would not be able to show off his talents even if he didn't say it.
Instead of dying in depression like Xin Qiji, it would be better to visit the Han princes in various places in the north to see if they can establish the merit of following the dragon.
His kind of thinking is relatively common among northern Han people and cannot be simply defined as immoral.
After the Southern Song Dynasty negotiated peace with the Jin Kingdom, the Han people in the north fell into ideological confusion.
Because the Southern Song Dynasty negotiated peace with the Jin State, it meant that the Song Dynasty did not want the land and population in the north. This was equivalent to recognizing the legality of the Jin State's occupation of the north, and at the same time chilling the hearts of the people in the north.
This made the northern Han people feel abandoned. In addition, the Jin Kingdom carried out a certain degree of Sinicization and ruled the north for many years. When the older generation of Han people who once lived in the Northern Song Dynasty died, the Han people in the north now lacked understanding of the situation. The human identity of the southern Han people.
After the reunification of the Yuan Dynasty, they were keenly aware of this. In order to facilitate their rule, they classified the northern Han people as Han people and the southern Han people as Nan people, further causing the division of the Han nation.
In this situation, it was not until the appearance of Zhu Yuanzhang, the fierce man from heaven, that the differences between the north and the south were gradually bridged and the national identity was re-established.
This is also one of the reasons why most Han people in the north took refuge in Mongolia after the fall of the Jin Kingdom, but not the Song Dynasty.
When Wang Wentong was in Shandong, he had dealings with the Han warlord Li Quan.
Now that Li Quan is dead, his son Li Fen is in charge of Yidu Province and lacks talents around him. He wrote to invite Wang Wentong to come and planned to go to Shandong.
At this time, he came to the city gate and was about to leave the city. When the guard guard saw him, he quickly stepped forward, raised his sword and said, "Sir, stay!"
Wang Wentong reined in his mules and horses and frowned. When he saw that the gatekeeper did not stop anyone else but only him, he couldn't help but frowned and said, "Why are you blocking my way?"
The gatekeeper officer came over and said with a smile: "Sir, you are lucky. Xuanfu Xianggong is interested in you and wants to hire you as a guard. Let us stop you and prevent you from leaving the city!"
Wang Wentong frowned, "Which Xuanfu Xianggong?"
The guard officer smiled and said, "We will find out when you get there, sir."
Wang Wentong saw several sergeants surrounding him. Seeing that he was not going away, Wang Wentong had to escort him over. He could only pull the reins unhappily and headed to the Yamen surrounded by soldiers.
At this time, Zhao Tai has set the county government office as his temporary headquarters. He is interviewing the officials in Suining City one by one to get a comprehensive understanding of his territory.
Suddenly, Cheng Hu walked in, came to his side, and whispered. Zhao Tai raised his head and glanced at him, then smiled and said to everyone: "That's it for today. You all go back first. We will talk tomorrow."
The county's magistrate, chief registrar, county lieutenant, superintendent and other minor officials in the county stood up quickly, saluted one after another, and left the hall respectfully.
Zhao Tai immediately stood up, straightened his clothes, and said, "Please come in!"
Not long after, Wang Wentong was brought in, and the escorting soldiers bowed and left, leaving him alone in the hall.
Wang Wentong glanced at Zhao Tai and was a little surprised. Could it be that the young man in front of him was the newly arrived Xuanfu envoy? He was too young.
However, he felt a little disdainful in his heart. It must be the descendants of the Wanyan family who obtained such a high position because of the influence of their ancestors.
Thinking of this, he dismissed it. He raised his head and glanced sideways at Zhao Tai, then casually cupped his hands and said, "I have met Mr. Xuanfu, please let me go out of the city to visit my relatives!"
His unruly look did not make Zhao Tai angry, but instead inspired Zhao Tai's desire to conquer him.
Zhao Tai walked over with a smile and said sincerely: "I am the deputy envoy of Xuanfu on the East and West Road of Shanxi Province. I know the affairs of Tengzhou and Pizhou. I heard that your husband is resigning and wants to leave. I specially asked my subordinates to keep you here. I hope that you can serve me well." Official effectiveness.”
Wang Wentong still raised his head, not looking at the person with a straight face, and said coldly: "I have little talent and little knowledge, and my ability is meager. Xuan Xiang has misjudged the wrong person!"
Looking at his expression, Zhao Tai knew his mentality. This Wang Wentong was an official in the Jin Kingdom earlier. After the death of Jin, he wandered among the Han warlords in the north. Then he became an official in the Yuan court, and finally colluded with Li Fen to rebel against the Yuan Dynasty. He was probably pursuing what he wanted. It is glory and wealth, plus the realization of self-worth.
After thoroughly studying his psychology, Zhao Tai opened his mouth and said, "I know that Mr. Xi has been studying since he was a child, and he is rich in strategies. Now that the world is in chaos, Mongolia has risen, and everyone is in trouble. I want to run one side, protect the northern border, and drive out the Mongols." , to restore peace to the world, I hope sir can help!"
Wang Wentong sneered unconsciously. The meaning was obvious. Mongolia is so powerful. You are the only one who can protect the northern border and restore peace to the world. The Jin Kingdom is about to die. You are just bragging.
Zhao Tai raised his eyebrows, "Sir, I don't believe it!"
"Don't believe it!" Wang Wentong also came and simply said, "Did Mr. Xuanfu see the chaos in Suining City? Just to drive away the Mongols and protect the northern border! With all due respect, the Jin Kingdom is already in danger, and the situation is difficult to change!"
Zhao Tai smiled and said: "Sir, your eyes are like a torch! When I first arrived in Suining, I was aware of the chaos in the city, but it is not difficult to manage it! With my ability, in a small town, within three days, I can Give it a new look. As for the general trend of the world, Mongolia is indeed very powerful. However, I will retreat from the Mongolian soldiers and join forces with the Southern Song Dynasty. With the skilled soldiers in the north and the wealth of money and food in the south of the Yangtze River, we may not be able to achieve great things!"
Wang Wentong opened his eyes with surprise, "You are Zhao Tai!"
Zhao Tai smiled and said: "Yes, I am Zhao Tai."
Wang Wentong couldn't help but look at Zhao Tai carefully. He originally thought that Zhao Tai was a member of the Wanyan clan. He didn't want to kill Zhao Tai with poison and forced him to retreat. He also successfully persuaded Zhao Tai, who joined the Jin Dynasty to fight against Mongolia in the Southern Song Dynasty.
In the current Jin Kingdom, there are not many people that Wang Wentong can admire, and Zhao Tai is definitely one of them.
This made Wang Wentong not dare to ask for help anymore, and he saluted Zhao Tai again, "I didn't know it was Mr. Zhao. I just offended you so much. I hope you can forgive me!"
Zhao Tai waved his hand, but still liked his unruly look, and said seriously: "Sir, you know my name, are you willing to join me and help me build a great cause?"
"This~" Wang Wentong admitted that Zhao Tai was a person, but he was not willing to surrender easily.
After all, in his view, no matter how hard the Jin Kingdom struggled, it would be hard to avoid the fate of destruction.
Although he thinks highly of himself and thinks he has great talents, he does not think he has the ability to change the general situation.
And since he concluded that the Jin Kingdom must perish, how could he serve as an aide to a Jin Kingdom Xuanfu envoy?
Zhao Tai saw his hesitation, so he did not force him to agree immediately, "Sir, you can consider it slowly, but before that, you are not allowed to leave Suining! In addition, I will not approve your resignation!"
Zhao Tai took out the resignation letter written by Wang Wentong and handed it to him, "Sir, keep it!"
Wang Wentong took it with a stunned expression. Zhao Tai stared at him with a slightly playful look, "Now Suining is under martial law. Anyone who leaves his post without permission will be regarded as a deserter. Military law will certainly be followed and he will be severely punished!"
