Not far from the alley is the Bianhe River. There is a tall and towering locust tree at the entrance of the alley. Its lush branches and leaves cover the afternoon sun.
Every day, many gangsters gather here, talking about sticks, swords and guns while talking about fleas.
There is a small courtyard next to the locust tree, with the door closed.
At this time, a man in his thirties or forties was walking to the small courtyard carrying a package of medicinal materials wrapped in oil paper.
The idle men on the side looked at the man and said, "Wang Taiwei, please teach me how to wait for the gun and club again!"
"Yes, there is a person as good at martial arts as you in Tianshui Lane. We really benefit from you!"
The man glanced at these idle men and said: "My wife is ill and has no time these days!"
"What a bummer!"
"I and others came here because of your reputation and wanted to see your abilities, but now we have to leave in despair."
"Yeah, how about we pay 1,500 dollars this time and bet that I can support you five times? Haha!"
"If it doesn't work, even ten sticks will do!"
"It's not for money, I just want to see what you are capable of!"
The middle-aged man ignored these people and pushed the door into the small courtyard. He closed the door and locked it tightly, blocking out the noise outside the house slightly. However, a few gossips still reached the man's ears.
The man held back his anger and walked into the courtyard. Several children rushed forward and shouted: "Daddy, Daddy!"
The other party nodded and went straight to the kitchen to put the medicinal materials into the earthen pot to brew the medicine. Then he walked to the courtyard, took off his clothes and danced with sticks. Several children sat aside and watched their father playing with sticks.
After dancing for half an hour, the man was sweating profusely. He scooped a ladle of water from the water tank and drank it all. Then he went to the kitchen and poured the medicine boiled in the earthen pot into a porcelain bowl. Finally, he took it to the courtyard for a while.
In Zhou Zheng's house.
There is a woman sitting in the upper half of the room, it is this man's wife Yang.
Yang looked at the other party and said, "Did you borrow money from the same year again because of my illness?"
The other party said: "Don't worry about the money. The doctor said that you will be fine after taking a few more pills. Don't miss the mark."
Yang sighed: "It's really not worth it for the officials to do this for my illness."
The other party said: "Don't say such things, we still need you to take care of our children."
At this time, several people outside the hospital shouted: "Wang Taiwei, there is a member of the army who wants to see you playing with a gun and stick. He said that if you beat his gun and stick master, he will give you twenty sticks!"
The man's face was ashen, and Yang quickly said to him: "It's not worth it for an official to be angry with these people."
The man let out a long sigh and said: "I blame myself for being useless. I have to fight against injustice that day and I have shown my ability. Since I was a child, I have had the ambition of my ancestors. I have always been good at studying and practicing martial arts, but I have fallen behind in being unable to do anything in literature or martial arts."
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"Now that I live in a place like this, with such talented people as my neighbor, I really feel ashamed that my wife has entrusted me with her life!"
Yang said: "Officials, don't be discouraged. There are so many people in the same year as you, and there is also Ouyang Gong, your mentor during the provincial examination. Now, aren't you an official and participating in politics? If he says a word, you are still afraid that there will be no way out."
The man sighed: "It's okay not to mention it. I received a reply from Ouyang Shenzheng yesterday. He said that my article... still needs to be pondered... not that it still needs to be pondered but that it is simply incomprehensible. He asked me not to take the examination again."
"It's a pity that I have been in Beijing for more than four years, and I have been unable to find a good position. I have exhausted my family wealth. How could I have learned martial arts and sticks? It would be better to concentrate on writing articles."
Yang comforted her: "Don't be discouraged, officials. You are just out of luck now. If you meet a noble person and get his support, you will rise to the top, which will fulfill your wish of becoming a prince."
The man smiled and said, "I hope it will be as the lady said."
After saying that, there was a knock on the door outside.
But I heard someone ask: "Is Wang Zichun, the general manager of the Jianchang Army and a member of the army, here?"
After a while, there was a commotion outside the door: "There is only Wang Taiwei here, how can Wang join the army?"
Yang said: "My husband seems to be here to find you."
The other party said suspiciously: "Who knew I lived here? Even my peers didn't tell me."
But I heard another voice outside the door: "May I ask if Wang Canjun is here?"
"My lord, go and have a look!" Yang urged.
The other party hesitated for a moment, responded, immediately stood up, tightened his belt, held a stick in hand and asked at the door: "There is no Wang Junjun here, who are you?"
The other party said: "I am Zuo Lang, who is in charge of seduction and prisoner Zhang Yue. I am here to pay homage to Wang Zichun, the manager of the Jianchang Army who joined the army. I wonder if you know his whereabouts?"
Zhang Yue?
The man was startled, put the stick aside, and opened the door.
But when he saw a tall man about twenty years old standing outside the door, he glanced at the stick at his feet and said with a smile: "I have no other intention of coming here. I just admire the name of Wang Junjun for a long time and want to make friends with him.
"
This man was none other than Wang Shao. He looked at Zhang Yue carefully and said, "I have heard about Meizhang Lang for a long time, and now I see that he is really handsome and handsome. Come in and talk."
"That's fine."
The other party led a burly companion inside.
Wang Shao invited Zhang Yue to sit down on the stone bench in the courtyard and said, "My wife is ill and is recuperating in the house. The courtyard is the only place where we can talk. Please forgive me, Master Zhang. I am Wang Shao."
Zhang Yue said with a smile: "Wang Shenjun doesn't mind being rude to me."
After finishing speaking, Zhang Yue sat down and asked, "Why do people outside call joining the army Taiwei Wang?"
Wang Shao had a slight look of embarrassment on his face and said: "Since I entered the capital as a candidate, I have used up all my money. I have no choice but to move to this poor alley. I dare not mention my identity as a civil servant, so I can only say that I am a disgraced martial artist."
"What about those people outside?"
"I have been accustomed to using sticks since I was a child. I saw someone playing with them a few days ago, so I fought with them and injured a few. Now I am in trouble."
Zhang Yue laughed when he heard this and said, "Wang Shenjun might as well tell you how to make a grudge."
Wang Shao said with a sullen face: "A few days ago, there was a gambling fight between the gangsters in Beijing. I was watching their sticks without any rules, so I accidentally said that these sticks are most useful for street fights, but if they are not used in battle, they cannot win against the heroes.
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"I didn't know they were listening, so they pulled me into the ring. I couldn't push me off at the time and knocked a few of them over. After that, people kept asking me to come to our house to learn how to use sticks."
Zhang Yue was overjoyed when he heard this. He didn't expect that Wang Shao was a master with both civil and military skills. History books never said that.
Zhang Yue said with a smile: "Wang Junjun is really good. I usually enjoy archery. Not long ago, when I went to Shaanxi, I encountered a tiger on the way. My usual ability is less than 10%, and I can't draw the bow. Thanks to me.
A man shoots a tiger."
"After this incident, I knew that this technique could not be used in battle. Only people like Wang Shenjun can be truly both civil and military."
Wang Shao smiled and said: "Scholar Zhang is laughing, yes, how did the bachelor find this place? Is there any place where Wang can be useful?"
Zhang Yue said: "I came from Ouyang Shenzheng, and I happened to see the article about joining the army by accident. One of the articles included a military strategy for Xixia, which was exactly the same as what I saw."
When Wang Shao heard this, his eyes turned sharply and he said: "It's just a scholar's opinion. Hey, I was going to make plans next year to attack Xixia Ce from the emperor, but when Ouyang joined politics... he said that my articles were not strong enough."
Zhang Yue said with a smile: "At this time, the civil servants in the DPRK and the Central Government do not like military affairs. If you join the army as a side strategy, you may not be able to stand out."
"Thanks to Bachelor's advice, otherwise all my efforts would have been in vain," Wang Shao looked a little sad and asked again, "So, did Bachelor Zhang come to me this time for Xixia affairs?"
Wang Shao heard about Zhang Yue throwing wine in the face of the Xixia envoy at the beginning of the year.
Zhang Yue nodded and said: "Yes, Xixia is about to invade this autumn. I would like to recommend Wang join the army to go to Qinfeng Road to know the troops."
"I?"
Zhang Yue saw that Wang Shao's face was not surprised at all, but showed a bright light.
Zhang Yue could tell that the light was the man's desire for power and fame.
Zhang Yue's wishful thinking was like this. In ancient times, employing personnel was the key to war and administration.
Because the war was fought thousands of miles away, and with the slow speed of message transmission, it was impossible for the imperial court to plan a decisive victory thousands of miles away.
Therefore, generals who act abroad have great power, and there is a saying that generals are not allowed to obey military orders abroad.
Placed on the edge of the Xihe River, this was the largest territorial expansion of the Song Dynasty since the end of the Five Dynasties. It expanded more than 2,000 miles of land, established a total of six states, and conquered the Hehuang land that the Tang Dynasty lost to Tubo.
Among them, Wang Shao deserves the most credit, and his ability is definitely beyond doubt.
In the Song Dynasty, those who recommended officials had to bear responsibilities. For example, if the official you recommended made a mistake, you would be punished. On the other hand, if the recommended official performed meritorious service, you could also share the credit.
As long as Zhang Yue recommends Wang Shao with his "intelligent eye and talent", then he will definitely have his own share of the military achievements in the future.
In addition, Zhang Yue could also use Wang Shao to promote the use of salt banknotes to lure prisoners in the attack on Tubo and Xixia, and harvest them through monetary means to achieve the purpose of supporting war with war.
Historically, Wang Shaoxi used four strategies to open the river.
One is to use both subjugation and appeasement. If you are obedient, you will be comforted. If you are disobedient, you will be beaten. If you use my salt banknotes, I will trade with you. If you don't use it, I will tell you that you have washing powder hidden in your house.
The second one is farming.
The third is the tea-horse trade, exchanging tea for your Tibetan horses.
Finally, there was the market exchange, where the government lent money to merchants to allow them to trade with Tibet, and then used interest money and market regulations as military expenses.
For example, in the third year from the fifth year to the seventh year of Xining, Wang Shao received 100,000 guan in interest from the market exchange, and 9,000 guan in regular money. The Tibetan ministries supported the market exchange to the extreme, saying that from now on, Han and Tibet would only have business and no vendetta.
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The only way to achieve peace is trade, but trade is always accompanied by war! If we can't agree, we will fight. Therefore, Xihe's opening of the border is a perfect match with Zhang Yue's monetization of salt banknotes.
Zhang Yue saw that Wang Shao was interested, but the other party sighed and said, "Thank you, Bachelor Zhang, for your kindness. I'm afraid I can't accept this."
Zhang Yue asked: "Why?"
Wang Shao said: "My wife is seriously ill. The doctor said she might not be able to survive this year. I don't want to leave her at this time. Little does Zhang know, my wife followed me when I was humble. At that time, she ignored the opposition from her family and insisted on taking care of her."
marry me."
"How can I let her down now? By leaving her at this time, I have let down your kindness, Bachelor Zhang!"
After Wang Shao finished speaking, he felt very regretful.
Zhang Yue didn't expect that things would turn out to be so bad in the end.
Seeing this, Zhang Yue almost said that a real man only cares about his fame and fame, so why worry about not having a wife, but after thinking about it, it wouldn't be good if Seventeenth Mother knew about this, so he decided to leave it alone and could only come to persuade her again another day.
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Just as Zhang Yue was about to leave, he saw a child pushing open the door and entering.
This child was carrying a basket of charcoal. When he saw Zhang Yue, he was surprised and said: "My dear benefactor! Why are you here?"
