Pirate Song

This time Zhao Fang summoned Gao Huaiyuan could be said to be a completely private meeting, so he did not formally meet Gao Huaiyuan at the government office, but invited Gao Huaiyuan to his residence.

Gao Huaiyuan was also grateful to Zhao Fang. When he killed Zhou County Lieutenant in front of the battle, he didn't understand Zhao Fang very well. Now after becoming an official, he really understood the reason why Zhao Fang expelled him from the army.

He knew Zhao Fang’s real intention was to

He thought about it and protected him secretly. In addition, because Zhao Fang led the army to fight against the Jin and made many military exploits. Compared with ordinary civil servants, he was more like a general and had considerable foresight in preparation. Therefore, Gao Huaiyuan

It can be said that he is very respectful to Zhao Fang.

This time, Gao Huaiyuan came without hesitation and brought out many good things as gifts for Zhao Fang. He rushed to Zhao Fang's house in Ezhou to sign up and presented the gift list to the officials at Zhao Fang's house.

Zhao Fang's mansion, as an important member of Jingxi Road, is one of the few in Ezhou City. It covers a large area and is relatively luxurious. This is inseparable from the style of officials in the Song Dynasty. Regarding Zhao Fang's mansion

When Gao Huaiyuan first came to this world, he would have been disgusted by his magnificence, but now that he looks at it, he can objectively look at the luxury of being an official from another perspective.

After all, as a court official, it is indeed unreasonable to live in a small courtyard. What's more, considering Zhao Fang's contribution to the Southern Song Dynasty court, no matter how much honor and enjoyment he is given, it is not too much. After all, this time between the Song and Jin Dynasties

During the battle,

Zhao Fang led his army to firmly guard the Jingxiang gate for the Southern Song Dynasty, which caused the Jin army to suffer a bloody blow on this front. It also ensured that the Southern Song Dynasty could continue to be in a peaceful situation. Therefore, Zhao Fang lived in more luxury, but it did not cause any trouble.

Gao Huaiyuan's bad feeling.

The news of Gao Huaiyuan's arrival soon reached Zhao Fang's ears, and he sent a message to invite Gao Huaiyuan to visit him in the inner garden. So Gao Huaiyuan arranged for his entourage to wait in the concierge, and followed the servants of the Zhao Mansion into Zhao Fang alone.

In the mansion, we walked through the halls and alleys and arrived at the back garden.

From a distance, he saw an old man in casual clothes pruning flowers and branches in the garden with a pair of scissors. Gao Huaiyuan had good eyesight, and he could tell at a glance that this man was Zhao Fang, the current ambassador of Jingxi Road Construction.

, so he quickly followed his followers into the garden.

"Your Majesty, Daye County Lieutenant Gao Huaiyuan has brought you here!" After the subordinate stood still, he reported to Zhao Fang, who was concentrating on pruning a bonsai.

"Little Gao Huaiyuan comes to meet Mr. Zhao!" Gao Huaiyuan immediately bowed and saluted and signed up.

Zhao Fang heard the sound and held his knees, struggled to stand up from the old pot of Pyracantha bonsai, put down the scissors in his hands, patted the soil on his hands, turned around and looked at Gao Huaiyuan.

After seeing Zhao Fang's face, Gao Huaiyuan couldn't help but feel secretly worried, because when he saw Zhao Fang this time, compared with when he saw Zhao Fang two years ago, he looked much older, and the wrinkles on his face were also

There are a few more, and even the originally gray hair has turned silvery white, and the complexion also looks a little unhealthy, as if he has aged a lot again.

But after thinking about it carefully, Gao Huaiyuan is not surprised, because Zhao Fang was nearly ninety years old at this time, and he personally commanded the troops in front of the army to fight against the Jin Dynasty. It was not easy to persist to this point.

, Therefore, Gao Huaiyuan's admiration for Zhao Fang increased even more. Seeing Zhao Fang walking unsteadily, he quickly stepped forward and, together with the retinue, helped Zhao Fang.

"My lord, please walk slowly. It's better to sit down and take a rest first!" The servant couldn't help but persuaded from the side.

"Haha! Old! It seems that old age is not enough for people!" Zhao Fang slowly walked to the stone bench aside, raised his eyes and looked hard at Gao Huaiyuan, who was supporting him, with a look of approval in his eyes.

After Zhao Fang sat down, his subordinates put a thick fur on him to protect him from the cold. Zhao Fang gasped slightly, coughed a few more times, and then smiled at Gao Huaiyuan who was standing:

"Huaiyuan, are you still complaining about me expelling you from the army?"

Gao Huaiyuan looked at the decrepit Zhao Fang and couldn't help feeling worried. He quickly bowed and replied: "Young man, how dare you! Although Huaiyuan is a reckless man, he also knows how much care he had for me back then, and he has no intention of complaining about you.

, In the past two years, I have been grateful to you all the time. It is a blessing to be able to see you again today, how dare you complain at all!"

"Haha! It seems that you have matured a lot in the past two years!" Zhao Fang raised his hand and took a sip of hot tea, waved his subordinates to leave, waved to Gao Huaiyuan and said: "Since Huaiyuan, you don't hate me.

, then I have a rare free day today, so you can accompany me to walk around in this garden!"

Gao Huaiyuan was flattered and stepped forward to take one of Zhao Fang's arms and help him stand up. For the old man Zhao Fang, he was as respectful as his father, and Zhao Fang seemed to be very relieved of him.

Gao Huaiyuan was a little surprised that he was treated in such an approachable manner.

Gao Huaiyuan helped Zhao Fang walk in the garden. Zhao Fang said to Gao Huaiyuan: "If it wasn't because someone in the court wanted to kill you, I would never have let you leave the army easily. For this reason, Meng Zong

Zheng Ke often wrote to me, urging me that what you did was not wrong. I have always been worried about this matter, but this time I came back to Ezhou and heard about you, I can feel at ease!

"

"It was Huaiyuan who was impeached because he was reckless and didn't know how to advance or retreat. This matter cannot be blamed on you, Mr. Zhao. You did this for me. Huaiyuan has always been grateful!" Gao Huaiyuan heard Zhao Fang mention this again.

It was a matter of fact, so he quickly replied politely.

Zhao Fang nodded approvingly and said: "You can see this, I feel relieved. I also know that you are young, not only have high martial arts skills, but also have the ability to control the army. You are a general. I have always

It's a pity that I couldn't keep you in the army, so I feel deeply sorry that a talented general like you couldn't train more in the army!

Although I am a civil servant, I have led the army to fight against the Jin Dynasty in the Jingxi Road area for these years. I also know that it is easy to get a thousand armies but it is hard to find a general. Although civil and military careers are different, I also know that I, the Song Dynasty, have young men like you.

Generals are rare. After I came back this time, I was very pleased to hear that you were promoted to Daye County Lieutenant by the imperial court!

Although the county captain is not a person who leads troops in the army, it is still regarded as a local military position, which does not bury talents like you. Moreover, I have also heard that since you took office at the beginning of the year, you have vigorously rectified the local public security in Daye County and organized

You have joined the Bow and Arrow Society, suppressed bandits, and done a lot of good things for the people of Daye County. This proves that you are not an ordinary person, and I am very optimistic about you!

What you are doing now is what I have wanted to do before. We Song people are too weak and not good at swordsmanship. If you can follow the methods of the northern frontier states in the early years and form an archery club to train the strong people in the countryside, it will be beneficial to us and others.

It was a rare good thing for the Song Dynasty to strengthen local defense forces. The fact that you led your village to bravely exterminate the lake pirates this time is a good proof!

In time, if your approach can be promoted in the surrounding prefectures and counties of the Song Dynasty, it will have a great effect on strengthening the power of the Song Dynasty to resist enemies. This is what I am most gratified about!

There's just one thing I'm not satisfied with you. At such a young age, you've only been an official for a short period of time, and yet you're like those officials. You've sent me so many gifts. Fortunately, it's you. Otherwise, I'd be in trouble.

I really won’t let you enter my house for a chat today!

I want to warn you that although we are officials, we cannot prey on the people. Money is something external to the body, and we must not seek personal gain with power to bring harm to the countryside. A gentleman loves money and gets it in a proper way. If you are an official and do not act righteously and bully the people and levy excessive amounts of money, you will be punished once

Let me know that I will never show favoritism to you! When the time comes, I will definitely punish you for being greedy and take your head!"

When he said the next few words, Zhao Fang suddenly stopped, stood up straight, turned around, stared into Gao Huaiyuan's eyes and said sternly.

Gao Huaiyuan is so sweaty! What happened to this? This time he had good intentions and wanted to express his gratitude to Zhao Fang, so he generously gave many good things to Zhao Fang.

When I thought about it, he misunderstood me as using my power to make money and bribed him! Isn't this like shooting myself in the foot? I'm sweating!

"Your Excellency, it seems that you have misunderstood Huaiyuan! Although Huaiyuan is not talented, he has not read much about how to behave, and Huaiyuan also knows that an official should work for the people of the area, and will never prey on the people!

Although I gave you some small gifts today, please rest assured that Huaiyuan has no intention of bribing you in order to get promotion and wealth from you! This is just Huaiyuan's gratitude for your love for me in the past.

It’s just my thoughts! And I can

I guarantee with the head on the item that among the gifts brought today, not even half of the copper coins were obtained from the people of Daye County! I hope you will be aware of this. If there is any harm to the people of the countryside, they will harm the people.

If it’s a serious matter, your Excellency, you can take this head right away!”

Zhao Fang stared into Gao Huaiyuan's eyes, and Gao Huaiyuan stood still and looked back at Zhao Fang without any hesitation or condescension. The two of them did not say anything for a long time. After a long time, Zhao Fang suddenly burst into laughter, and then started coughing again.

, Gao Huaiyuan quickly stepped forward to support Zhao Fang and gently brushed his back.

Zhao Fang put a hand on Gao Huaiyuan's arm, breathed for a while and calmed down, and said: "Very good boy! Your eyes tell me that you are not lying. I believe what you said. I will accept these things."

Yes! I have been an official for decades. This is the first time I have seen an official like you showing such clear eyes. It’s great! You are indeed someone whom Meng Zongzheng values!”

Gao Huaiyuan also smiled: "Master Zhao, just accept it with peace of mind. Huaiyuan dare not deceive Master Zhao! It's just that you still have to put your health first. It's best to rest as much as possible, especially drink less wine. It seems that

It was a mistake for me to give you the wrong wine! Can you please return the wine you brought me and take it back?"

"Don't even think about it. After you enter my house, you want to take it back. Don't even think about it! I've heard about the wine you brought me in Xiangyang. Isn't the god drunk? I have long wanted to drink a few drinks! Now you want to

There's no way to go back!" Zhao Fang immediately laughed and scolded.

The two looked at each other and laughed.

The two of them walked for a while and Zhao Fang felt a little tired, so he found a pavilion in the garden to sit down and rest. Gao Huaiyuan asked Zhao Fang: "This time Mr. Zhao came back to Ezhou. I was quite surprised, but I didn't know that the army

How is the war going now?" Gao Huaiyuan asked Zhao Fang, pretending to be ignorant.

Zhao Fang shook his head and said: "This time I came back to receive the order. In the past two years, the army's generals have dared to use their lives to achieve great victories. Therefore, I was promoted to Taizhong Dafu and the post of Minister of the Ministry of Power and Punishment. In the past few months,

The war has calmed down, Meng Zongzheng's army has captured Tangzhou, and the Jin army is no longer able to invade Xiangyang and other places, so I finally found some time to come back and relax for a while!

During this period, the Mongolian army went south again. The Jin Kingdom was busy dealing with the invasion of the Mongolian army, so it was temporarily unable to invade south. In June, the Mongolian army attacked the Daming Mansion of the Jin Kingdom, and in turn captured Kaizhou, Dongming, Changyuan and other places. Mongolia

Mu Huali of the army was in Huangling, Shandong again

Gang defeated the Jin soldiers, and the whole Jin Kingdom was very nervous. However, the Mongolian army has always just attacked and plundered before retreating. I think the Jin army will continue to invade the south in the next year. I'm afraid I won't be able to rest for long!" General Zhao Fang

I told Gao Huaiyuan the general situation before.

Gao Huaiyuan sighed slightly and said: "The Kingdom of Jin has already had a knife on its neck, but it doesn't know how to die. It seems that the Kingdom of Jin is about to run out of energy. Your Excellency, you should put your body first. There are Lord Meng and General Hu in front of the army."

, General Liu and others are here, I guess there will be no problem! Your Excellency said that this time you hold the post of Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, is it possible that you will be transferred to Beijing as an official? "

Gao Huaiyuan was very puzzled by the imperial court's promotion of Zhao Fang to the post of Minister of the Ministry of Justice at this time. He felt that it was really unwise to transfer a town official like Zhao Fang away at this time. If he replaced him, I'm afraid it would not be possible.

It is easy to control the situation around Jingxi Road, so I am very worried about this matter.

"You don't have to worry too much about this. Although the imperial court promoted me to the position of Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, it is just a false position. I am still the envoy of Jingxi Road, and I will not go to Beijing to serve as an official in the short term! It's just my health that I'm afraid

I can’t last much longer! I’m not too worried about the other people in Jin Kingdom, I’m just concerned about

Now the deputy commander of the Jin Army, Pusan ​​Anzhen, is a little uneasy. You must know that Pusan ​​Anzhen is a famous general of the Great Jin Kingdom, and the flower hat army under his command is even more elite. Once Pusan ​​Anzhen goes south, we estimate that we

There are not many people in General Song who can match him! This is what I am worried about!" Zhao Fang shook his head and said to Gao Huaiyuan.

A thought suddenly flashed through Gao Huaiyuan's mind. He wanted to return to the army and compete with this famous general in the last years of the Jin Kingdom, but he immediately gave up the idea. He remembered a record about Pusan ​​Anzhen,

He comforted Zhao Fang and said: "Master Zhao, don't worry about this. The Jin Kingdom is no longer what it used to be. The reason why they invaded south is not because of their strong military strength. They just want to get some benefits in our Song Dynasty and capture the territory of the Song Dynasty.

Just increase the depth of their strategy!

But the current leader of the Jin Kingdom is fatuous and incompetent, but he never thought that if things continued like this, it would only lead to the demise of the Jin Kingdom. If he had shown his goodwill to our Song Dynasty and made good relations with our country after our defeat in the Kaixi Northern Expedition earlier,

, if we can deal with the Mongolian army with all our strength, the Kingdom of Jin still has a glimmer of hope. Unfortunately, not only did he not see this, but he came to attack our country with his troops. Seeking death like this, it is really a crime of God that you can still live, but you can't survive if you do a crime of your own.

also!

Moreover, he also appoints treacherous people, such as famous generals like Pusan ​​Anzhen. If he wants to make a difference, it will be extremely difficult! There is no guarantee that one day, people like Pusan ​​Anzhen will be killed by his sponsors.

Oh! Mr. Zhao, you don’t have to worry too much about the Jin Army going south. As long as our army strictly guards the Jianghuai Gorge, I don’t expect the Jin Army to be able to do anything to us!"

Zhao Fang looked at Gao Huaiyuan in surprise, looked at him for a while and then said: "I didn't expect that at such a young age, you could see current affairs so clearly, and you could even see such things. I really look down on you."

Oh! I regret it even more now. I shouldn’t have let you leave the army and return to the ground in the first place.

Come on up! If you practice more in the army, one day you will become a general in charge of the army! Let me ask you! Do you want to return to the army and become a general now? If you are willing, I will

You can ask the imperial court to transfer you to the Ezhou Dutongsi as a general. What do you think?"

Gao Huaiyuan's heart skipped a beat when he heard this. He felt bad because he had said too much! Although he was just a county lieutenant now, with a small official position, he was very carefree. If he entered the Dutong Division as a general, it would sound like

It looks a little more imposing, but in reality it is the same as

After losing your freedom, you will no longer have the leisure you have now. Moreover, the status of generals in the Southern Song Dynasty is not much higher than that in the Northern Song Dynasty. You are needed when fighting, but when not fighting, you are simply inferior among officials.

Man, he doesn’t want to be a general in the army!

This is not because he is greedy for life and afraid of death, but because he is inevitably subject to many restrictions in the army, which makes it inconvenient to do many things. Moreover, it is not very interesting to start a war with the Jin army now. He should have learned from the army two years ago.

He had already learned it before, and although he could not say that he was very proficient in it, he did not think that he could make a difference in the military due to the current military system of the Southern Song Dynasty.

"Well... Huaiyuan, thank you for your kindness! I won't hide anything from you. Although I am only a county lieutenant now, I have no intention of transferring to the army as a lieutenant general. Many things in Daye County have just begun.

However, it has not yet achieved results. I want to continue to promote the bow and arrow club and the joint defense of Xiangyong, so Huaiyuan thinks it is better to stay in Daye County for the time being!" Gao Huaiyuan immediately declined Zhao Fang's proposal tactfully.

After Zhao Fang heard this, there was a look of disappointment on his face.dd