The monarch and his ministers responded briefly and concluded their 'greetings', and then walked slowly into the hall together.

At this time, Zhao Jiu finally noticed the weakness of the other party's body and determined that the other party was just in a state of recovery. Because when he supported this man who had traveled around the world for ten years when he was young, he was famous for his strong body and rough words and deeds.

By then, I could barely feel the weight on my hands.

However, the more this happened, the more cautious Zhao Jiu became... because at this time, 'Grandpa Zong' was actually 'invincible' to him, an official.

In fact, not only Zhao Jiu, but also Hu Yin, the censor Zhongcheng who is known as half-phase, Lin Jingmo, the confidant of officials and civil servants, Lan Gui, the internal minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, saw just now

After thinking about that scene for a moment and understanding the joints, everyone was a little cautious, while others like Wan Qixi, Wang Shan, Guo Zhongxun and others were even a little frightened.

But no matter what, now that they are here, they have no choice but to look at each other and then enter the hall carefully.

"Why are you so careful?" Zongze sat down in the prepared seat on the left hand side with the support of Zhao Guanjia, and called his son to serve him. Seeing that Zhao Guanjia simply sat down, the others did not dare to move, and he couldn't help but continue.

Laughing. "Do you think I didn't entertain you well here? Today is just a private banquet. Don't be restrained just because the official family is here."

Officials have no restrictions!

Hu Yin and others became increasingly helpless, but they had no choice but to sit down. Since the Zong Xiang had made it known publicly, they did not dare to follow the rules of public banquets by official position. Instead, they followed the custom of private banquets in the officialdom in previous years and ranked them by birth order.

Looking at the seats, it turned out that the four Jinshis Guo Zhongxun, Lin Jingmo, and Hu Yin followed in order to the left, while Lan Gui, Wan Qixun, Liu Yan, and Wang Shan were all sitting on the opposite side carefully.

The banquet was very rough, the wine was not good, and there were not many dishes. Of course, everyone was in fear and had no intention of enjoying it.

"I heard that Yanling, the official family, won the battle?"

As expected, everyone sat down and managed to eat some dishes. Before the wine was poured, Zongze, who had just said it was a private banquet, couldn't ask further questions.

"The good minister who stayed behind knows that Yanling is really victorious." Guo Zhongxun next to him heard this, and he became energetic and spoke quickly. "More than a dozen fierce security guards were all wiped out, and ten thousand households of Pucha, Falcon and Balu were also killed.

, the enemy in Zhongmo retreats, Wan Yan is too lazy to prepare coldly..."

"I'm asking the official." Zongze turned his head and glanced at his recommender. The latter just looked at him and lowered his head and dared not speak.

"That's true." Zhao Jiu said simply. "But this battle is about being forced into a desperate situation and having no choice but to survive in death. Since it is a desperate move, the cause is not worthy of praise, and the result has not yet been determined."

"Let's not talk about the reason for the moment, but there is something to say about the result." Under the candlelight in the house, Zong Zefu squinted at Zhao Guan's house again, and then slowly shook his head. "Song and Jin have been fighting for five years, and the young master wins.

There are many defeats, but every victory is worthy of praise. How can it be such a great victory? According to the veteran minister, once Changshe was restored, the land of Five Rivers returned to the hands of the king's division, and the Jin army was separated from the north and the south. This situation was already alive...

…”

"I beg to differ." Zhao Jiu also shook his head. "The Jin Army has more than 200,000 households on the east and west routes. There are probably 300,000 people in the country. A dozen fierce security guards are not enough to shake the overall situation, and this battle will eventually end.

The result still depends on the situation of Han Shizhong and Yue Fei in the past few days."

"Then how can we count it as a result?" Zongze lowered his head and thought for a moment, then asked again with a calm expression.

"In fact, from my point of view, regardless of victory or defeat, forcing the Jin people to cross the Yellow River as soon as possible is the only priority." Zhao Jiu was still straightforward. "I just want to try not to delay the spring plowing in Henan..."

"That's true." Zongze leaned on his son's arm, thoughtfully. "The official is the emperor, so he should look at it from a high place... But after all, it is the king's victory, and it cannot be faked, and Han Shizhong and Yue Fei both

He is a general, and he will not delay the overall situation... It is better to have a drink to congratulate Master Wang."

Everyone in the hall took a breath of relief, and then quickly raised their glasses in fun. Even Zongze himself reluctantly took a sip from the glass raised by his son.

However, as everyone drank their glasses, and the next moment, as the Zong Xianggong continued to speak, everyone became nervous again:

"The official, Du Chong, a high-ranking minister, was killed in the hall by the official's own hands for some unknown reason?"

"His son Du Yan personally issued a report to the Prime Minister. Du Chong and Ta Lan agreed not to fight, which is against the clear instructions of Bagongshan in the past..." Zhao Jiu had already replied concisely, but at this point, he sighed to himself. "Actually,

Even considering this, it is still possible to kill him or not, but if you don’t kill him, firstly, you will not be able to properly obtain military power and frighten the commanders of the Tokyo Remaining Department to send troops immediately; secondly, I will not be at ease!"

"The official family is really magnanimous today." Zongze couldn't help but smile.

"I don't dare to be frank with Mr. Zong." Zhao Jiu calmly held his hands in front of him.

"That being the case, I am still curious about something...Why can't the official family be at peace?" Zongze seemed to be smiling but not smiling.

"So Fan escaped from Nanyang and went to Yanling to collect his troops. He suffered heavy losses along the way." Zhao Jiu answered patiently.

"I don't believe it." Zongze suddenly shook his head.

"Why?"

"In the old days in Hebei, the officials did not even take care of their own father, brother, mother, and sister. How could they be considerate and considerate of ordinary soldiers?" Zongze's tone was still calm, but the content of his words had a hint of awe.

If other people in the hall have heart disease, they may have committed it on the spot and walked one step faster than Zong Xianggong. But even if they are not sick, many people want to cover their ears immediately. As for those who have always had their own opinions,

Hu Yin, who expressed Wuji, was almost unable to bear it at this time.

But Zhao Jiu was silent for a moment, and then he followed this Zong Xianggong, who said, "When a person is about to die, everything is unscrupulous", he came to an earth-shattering thought:

"How can one cry when one family is crying? War disasters have caused the world to be in chaos, and millions of people have died... As the emperor, of course he should talk about filial piety and brotherhood in front of outsiders, but in fact, how can he have the time to take care of just a few people?

A family? I should have been thinking about arms, food, grass, money, and silk, and taking care of the soldiers guarding the city, so as to bring peace to the world as soon as possible. Nothing else matters."

As soon as these words came out, the first one to react was Hu Yin, the censor Zhongcheng. He immediately stood up from behind the case, his face flushed, and he wanted to speak, but he didn't know what to say for a moment and could only stand there in shock.

Zongze and Zhao Guanjia looked back at this person, but they didn't take it seriously. Instead, they continued to talk to each other as if they were gossiping:

"In the past in Hebei, I never saw officials thinking about peace in the world."

"Let's not mention the incident of falling into a well. I'm just comparing my feelings. When I was in Hebei in the past, how could I have ever thought about what kind of official I would become?"

"There is some truth in saying this, but this principle can be applied before the Second Saints went north to hunt. After the Second Saints went north to hunt, why did the officials rush to abandon the people of Hebei and cross the river south to ascend the throne? And after ascending to the throne, why did they abandon everything?

Hebei layout?”

"I think it was because I was young at that time and was charmed by Huang Qianshan, Kang Lu and others, and I had no prejudices in my heart. It was also true that I was temporarily depressed and lost my faith... Even if I forgot about this kind of thing, it was indeed my fault." Zhao

Jiu looked at each other slowly.

Zongze was silent for a long time, and after a long time he said to him with a sigh: "I don't care about the old minister's words about falling into a well and forgetting the past, but the official went too far with his honesty today. Could it be that he thinks that I am a dying person?"

"I speak from the bottom of my heart." Zhao Jiu remained calm.

"What the official said today actually makes sense, but I don't believe it." Zongze shook his head slowly.

The atmosphere in the hall became tense again, and the rest of the people sitting there were completely helpless.

In fact, there is no need for anyone to be smart or stupid here. Everyone knows what is going on. That is, the official family, which is extremely firm in its anti-gold stance, has an obstacle that cannot be overcome by Zong Xianggong, who is also a model of anti-gold. No matter what, the Zhao official family cannot

There is no way to make up for the fact that he gave up on Lianghe around the middle of the first year of Jianyan.

You said you resisted the Jin, who abandoned the two rivers and ran away to ascend the throne in a hurry?

You said that you won the battle and wiped out more than a dozen men and more than 10,000 people. Do you dare to ask whether the people in the two rivers are 20 to 30 million people?

You said how hard you worked, how difficult it was, how could you ask someone like Mr. Zong Zezong who risked his life to maintain the old capital and resist the invasion when he was so poor?

And the most important point is that if it were the rest of the people, the Zhao Guan family could still comfort them a little, say 'we'll wait for the future', sigh 'we'll see what happens in the future'... But Mr. Zong is in his seventies and is terminally ill.

He is about to die, how can he look forward to the future and look forward to the future?

To be fair, everyone knows that the Zhao Guan family has done a very good job this time, and even dating back to the battle at Huaishang, it has been very satisfactory. But it is a pity that only when facing Zongze, he

What I did...I'm afraid it's not good enough!

This is a dead end.

Compared with this crux, the unspoken words of both parties just now, but already explicit enough to frighten Hu Yin, made no sense between the two people in the hall. You said that you are the key to the anti-Jin righteousness, but the Jin people

Was it not your Zhao family that caused the invasion?

In response to this, Zhao Guanjia's answer was, please don't worry about the things those people caused me, who was just a child at the time.

And Zongze really didn't pay much attention to this matter.

"I feel that what the officials said today is half true and half false." In the silence, Zong Rulin finally sighed softly again. "I really don't know how much you are comforting me, this old minister, who is about to die?"

"It's all sincerity." Zhao Jiu seemed to have already thought about his attitude and words when facing Zongze, because he did not hesitate at all. "I have been determined to resist the Jin Dynasty to the end and regain the mountains and rivers since I was in Bozhou Mingdao Palace.

It’s just that I myself know that among all the people in the world, only Mr. Zong has trouble believing in me. I can’t explain it..."

Many people's hearts were slightly moved.

And Zongze still seemed unmoved. After a moment of pause, he opened the door further: "Guan Jia, veteran, you have been defending Tokyo alone for more than a year, can you count it as a way to turn the tide?"

"It's natural."

"And today, when I die in office, it can be said to be a dedication to my life, right?"

"This is inevitable."

"Then the history books in the future won't be able to say anything bad about me today, right?"

"good."

"And the officials are also very clever... I'm afraid they also know that I have nothing to fear today."

"I probably understand." Zhao Jiu suddenly laughed. "Unless I regain my country and prove my innocence in the future, everyone in the world will believe whatever my husband says today."

"That's why the officials are so polite today..."

"If I don't have sincerity, wouldn't it be better if I hide in Yanling for a few days, wait for my husband to leave, and then come back here?" Zhao Jiu also made it clear.

Zongze was silent for a moment, but still shook his head slowly: "Actually, it is Chen Qiang who is holding on to wait for the official. If the official does not arrive, the old minister will not die."

"I know, that's why we are here today." Zhao Jiu also became serious.

"Why does this sound like urging an old minister to die?" Zong Zefu sneered again.
To be continued...