Volume 1 Chapter 4 Heroic Spirit
The next morning, although the sky was already bright, the autumn wind from the previous night brought a slightly cool breeze, which then created a gloomy and rainy scene.
At this time, our severely hit Emperor Zhao was depressed and sleepless all night, and walked out of the tent with a pair of dark circles under his eyes.
However, in contrast, the tall and majestic Yang Yizhong seemed to be tireless. He was seen squatting outside the tent in full armor, holding a sword, with bright eyes. When he saw Zhao Jiu coming out of the tent, he immediately stood up and bowed his head to face him:
"Your Majesty! I'm glad to hear that although Tongzhilang Liu Yan was pardoned, he was still uneasy. However, Your Majesty had retired early and I didn't dare to disturb him, so I kept him waiting in another tent... Would Your Majesty like to meet him?"
"Shouldn't we just let him go?"
Yang Yizhong bowed his head and did not answer.
"Forget it, let's just meet him." Zhao Jiu yawned and responded helplessly. Although he couldn't empathize with him, he could understand Liu Yan's fear, and at this moment he really needed to win over such a military leader.
You must know that even if you haven't eaten dog meat, you have seen dogs running. After watching so many TV dramas and novels, Zhao Jiu still has some sense of propriety. He knows very well that in troubled times, as an official on the run, the one who can really take his life is definitely not the prime minister or the eunuch. Those people can only put him in a position so that he can't do anything. The biggest threat is precisely people like Liu Yan and Yang Yizhong who directly control dozens or hundreds of soldiers.
Liu Yan is about thirty years old this year, and looks more like a civil servant than a military commander. In fact, it is said that he was a Jinshi in the Liao Dynasty, and Tongzhilang also seems to be a civil official, which seems to be much more noble than Yue Fei's Wuyilang!
Well, why do we say seems and as if?
The reason was that Zhao Jiu really didn't understand. You have to know that according to the rules of the Song Dynasty, officials are officials, positions are positions, and real assignments are assignments. Moreover, officials are divided into temporary officials, regular officials, and graded officials, and they are divided into different categories. Civil officials are civil officials, and military officials are military officials... Anyway, it is impossible for a 21-year-old college student with normal IQ like him to understand all these things in a few days.
Even Yang Yi Zhong, the servant who followed him every day, was confusing to Zhao Jiu, because there were other servants around him, who were eunuchs who specialized in helping him find clothes.
Of course, no matter what, just as the reason why Zhao Jiu was afraid of Yang Yi Zhong was that this majestic-looking, tall man always wore armor and carried a knife to monitor him, Liu Yan's most actual position at this time was still the leader of the 800-man Red Heart Team, and everything else was empty talk.
Besides, the situation is now, the Song Dynasty is about to fall, who cares about this? Before the Jingkang period, someone publicly proposed to set up a vassal state in Hebei. As for those messy official systems, don't let Zhao Jiu get the chance to take power, otherwise he will definitely cut them off and replace them with something that is one is one and two is two.
"What's Liu Qing's name?" After thinking for a while, Zhao Jiu, who was in a bad mood and afraid of being exposed, decided to cut the Gordian knot.
"My name is Pingfu." Liu Yan was so ashamed that he didn't even dare to raise his head.
"Pingfu, I know you are upset, so let's do this, you pack up." Zhao Jiu, who was standing in front of the tent, said with a straight face. "From today on, the Red Heart Team will send 50 riders to serve in front of the emperor, and they will be treated the same as the other squads... Anyway, the other squads seem to be rebuilt, so let's just call it a new squad! This will show that I have no doubts about you and the Red Heart Team. And Pingfu, you have to work harder, you have to take care of both the emperor and here... The sky is gloomy, so make a fire quickly, don't delay everyone's meal."
After these words were spoken, not only Liu Yan and the several officers of the Red Heart Team who followed behind him were all overjoyed, but even Yang Yi Zhong was stunned on the spot, his heart was in turmoil.
After a while, Liu Pingfu naturally got busy, but Yang Yizhong, who had become more talkative during the day and night, held his sword and sighed:
"The official's behavior this day and night is truly heroic like the Han and Tang dynasties!"
Zhao Jiu was originally sluggish, but after comforting Liu Yan and the Red Heart Team, he became more energetic because of the gloomy weather . Unexpectedly, when he suddenly heard the word "heroic spirit", he felt his teeth ache... What kind of heroic spirit is this? If he really had the heroic spirit of the Han and Tang Dynasties, he would have directly ordered Liu Yan to kill Yang Yizhong here, and then led 800 cavalrymen to wade into the Mingdao Palace and kill Kang, Huang, Wang, and Wang at the same time.
Do I need you to talk about heroism here? What era is this? Do you want to show off your courage?
Of course, Yang Yizhong was tall and strong, fully armed, and looked like someone who was not easy to mess with. It was also said that he was born in a family of generals and had a high reputation among the imperial guards. Zhao Jiu was a college student who had just traveled through time and space and had only killed chickens and beaten cats before, so he really didn't dare to make up his mind to fight with such a person... What if he was within five steps and could defeat a country?
Thinking of this, he could only shake his head and remain silent - he had been thinking about all sorts of things last night. If he wanted to fight against the Jin, he must first have strength; if he wanted strength, he had to effectively control the remaining half of the country and build his own large team; and if he wanted to build his own large team, he must first break through the barrier of Kang, Yang, Huang, Wang, and Wang in order to take control of the government and personnel; but if he wanted to break through the isolation of these five people, he had to first win over his own small team.
Today, being able to win over Liu Yan against Yang Yizhong can be considered a blessing in disguise .
"The emperor is so lenient to Liu Pingfu, is it because of his cavalry?" Seeing that Zhao Jiu did not react, Yang Yizhong, who stood upright, asked again while no one was paying attention in the chaos around him. "And the Liaodong troops have nothing to do with the imperial court?"
Zhao Jiu finally stared at Yang Yizhong, or rather, he finally realized the abnormality of his personal bodyguard, but he still didn't understand the reason.
Did he realize that he was deliberately trying to sabotage him and divide his authority in the palace, so he warned him?
This is reasonable, but it is obvious that the other party's abnormal behavior started last night, which is even more intriguing.
"What does Yang Qing mean?" No matter what, Zhao Jiu became a little alert.
"I just want to remind your majesty." In front of the tent door, Yang Yizhong leaned forward with his sword in hand. "Your majesty is the emperor, there is no need to be so wary of your ministers."
This is almost equivalent to revealing the tacit confrontation between the two sides in person, and it seems quite well-intentioned.
But this still did not let Zhao Jiu feel relieved, because he had no idea what kind of person Yang Yizhong was. Who knew if he would "punch the emperor three times and run away" in the next second? Who knew if he would kill him with a knife and then take his head to surrender to the Jin Dynasty?
Is he a traitor or a loyal minister? Is his surname Wang or Jiang? What is his nature? Emperor Zhao was completely confused.
In fact, as a time traveler, Zhao Jiu kept looking for those "historical celebrities" he knew despite repeated setbacks. It was not only because those people were outstanding in their abilities, but many times, it was because he had known the temperament and positions of these "historical celebrities" for a long time, which would give Zhao Jiu an illusion that everything was under control... and a sense of security!
However, he knew who Li Gang, Zong Ze, and Yue Fei were, but Zhao Jiu really had no idea who Yang Yi Zhong was.
"Your Majesty, do not have to doubt."
In the early morning, the autumn wind blew, and the sky became increasingly gloomy, with a hint of autumn rain. Yang Yizhong also put down his hand holding the sword, took a half step forward, and continued to speak to the Emperor Zhao, who was in a state of confusion but remained silent. "First, the world is in chaos, but Your Majesty is the only orthodox one in the world today, and is the will of the people. Under the general trend, no one here can shake Your Majesty's throne; second, in the system of the Song Dynasty, everything is decided by the emperor, and no one can be a powerful minister... Among them, scholars can understand confidential texts, Hanlin can enter the palace to serve, and the censors can retire as prime ministers. The generals in the imperial camp are directly under Your Majesty, from the commander-in-chief to the ordinary soldiers, all of whom can decide whether to stay or go with Your Majesty's words... Even I was asked by Your Majesty to rebuild the Banzhi from Zhang Taiwei (Zhang Jun). I have no foundation in the palace, and Your Majesty can send me back with just one word."
Zhao Jiu, who was standing in front of the tent, was surprised. No matter how confused he was, he understood what Yang Yizhong meant.
Of these two sentences, the first one told Zhao Jiu that he didn't need to worry about his personal safety and the throne, because at least in inheriting the overall framework of the Song Dynasty, he was still irreplaceable; the second one simply pointed out the vital points of Kang, Huang, Wang, Wang, and even Yang Yizhong!
Use people with bachelor's degrees to seize power!
Specifically use Hanlin academicians to suppress Kang Lu!
Use the censors to control the prime ministers!
As for Yang Yi Zhong and Wang Yuan, they are actually not worth mentioning at all, because according to the system of the Song Dynasty, Emperor Zhao can find a public occasion and decide the advancement or retreat of these warriors with just one sentence.
In other words, Yang Yizhong has unconditionally turned against us!
"Why are you telling me this?" Zhao Jiu turned his head slightly and squinted his eyes as he looked at the busy and excited people in the Red Heart Team not far away. "Just because I pardoned those people yesterday, slept here for a night, and promoted Liu Yan, what kind of heroic spirit do you have in Han and Tang Dynasties?"
"The emperor is the emperor!" Yang Yizhong bowed his head slightly, neither humble nor arrogant.
"Then why didn't you say anything yesterday?" Zhao Jiu came back to his senses and pressed on. "You didn't say anything the day before yesterday."
"If the emperor insists on asking me the truth, I have only four words to say that are right!" Yang Yizhong finally raised his head in front of Zhao Jiu.
As the two men of similar height faced each other at close range, it was the first time that Zhao Jiu noticed the equally young face hidden under the armor of the man in front of him, rather than the image of a simple observer.
"Which four words?" After a long pause, Zhao Jiu asked.
"National hatred and family feud...that's all!" Yang Yizhong had a blank expression on his face.
Zhao Jiu was stunned and speechless. He knew that was what he said last night from the perspective of Zhao Gou's body in order to shut Yang Yi Zhong up.
To be fair, this was just a perfunctory remark, but unexpectedly it hit the nail on the head!
Besides, Zhao Jiu understood that there must be deeper reasons for the other party's betrayal - for example, the saying 'the emperor is the emperor' might be the most fundamental reason, because even if these people were doubtful, they dared not deny that this body was the emperor Zhao, and being an emperor, he naturally had authority; and Yang Yi Zhong, as a palace attendant, seemed to have a noble status, but he had the lowest status in the group of five, and was even vaguely like Kang Lu's appendage. It was far less promising to just hold on like this than to take a gamble and betray.
But no matter what, Zhao Jiu was only full of curiosity and shock about the four words "national hatred and family feud" at this moment.
"I remember someone said that you come from a family of generals..." Zhao Jiu clasped his hands together and stood there, but turned his head to look elsewhere. "You should also know that after I fell into the well, there are some things that I can't remember clearly."
"Of course I know."
Yang Yizhong stood still and spoke frankly. "During the Jingkang period, my father, Yang Zhen, was the governor of Jianning Village in Linzhou and was killed by the Jin people; my grandfather, Yang Zongmin, was the general manager of Yongxing Army and was killed in the battle of the Jin people... I was 23 years old at that time, my family was broken up, but I couldn't die for my loyalty, so I had to go east to Hejian, where I met Zhang Taiwei on the way. We went to Xinde Prefecture together, and Liang Shizhi (Liang Yangzu) took me in, and then I went to the Marshal's Mansion... The national hatred and family hatred are also a pain in my bones!"
"Your grandfather's name is Yang Zongmin?" Zhao Jiu looked back in a daze. "Zong generation."
"yes."
"Then what is the relationship between your family and Yang Ye and Yang Wudi?"
"When the country was founded, my great-grandfather Yang Huiye stayed in Jin for a long time. He did have a small reputation, but the title of invincible was unheard of." Yang Yizhong still spoke his mind.
"Are you a direct descendant of the Yang family?" Zhao Jiu was finally stunned. "A true general of the Yang family?"
"I can't say I am a direct descendant, and as a general of the Song Dynasty, I dare not call myself a family general." Yang Yizhong's face, which seemed to never change, finally looked gloomy. "But my family has been in Hedong for a hundred years, and six generations have been generals. Naturally, we have some reputation in the Western Army. However, after Jingkang, the family was separated, and only four brothers survived. The rest are missing. And here, I am probably the only one who has entered the government as an adult. At this point, even if there are so-called Yang family generals, I am afraid I am the only one left."
It seems that Yang Kang may not be your biological grandson, but may be your nephew's grandson... In a trance, Zhao Jiu actually thought of this absurd thing.
However, as a drop of autumn rain fell, he quickly reacted, and took the initiative to step forward: "What's Yang Qing's name?"
