There was less and less harassment in the border town, and Lin Yuan felt a lot more at ease.
Over the years, he has focused his attention on border crossings, in order to make the people more stable and prevent border crossings from being harassed all the time, people can’t live a peaceful life, and businessmen can’t do business with peace of mind. There are fewer good players, and the cost of business has gone up. Lin Yuan felt a little distressed when he collected taxes - if the businessman hadn't hired so many good players, he could still collect a little more tax.
Since the border has been stabilized, both the court and the public have been singing their praises.
It is said that Lin Yuan is a hero descended from heaven.
But in addition to the good news, there is also the bad news that Song Shizhao is dying.
In recent years, Song Shizhao's physical condition has deteriorated.
He was in his fifties when he first followed Lin Yuan, and now he is a long-lived old man.
These days, Lin Yuan has been calling attention to Song Shizhao's situation and sent the best imperial physician in the palace, but there was still no improvement. old sickness.
Birth, old age, sickness and death are hurdles that mortals cannot escape.
Erliang walked in from outside the door, as if Lin Yuan reported Song Shizhao's situation, Lin Yuan hurried to the prime minister's residence.
Song Shizhao is a very peculiar person. He seems to have no selfish desires and does not indulge in any pleasures. Although he lives in the prime minister's mansion, the prime minister's mansion is the residence of officials in the Yuan Dynasty. There were no servants, only an old servant was always by his side.
After so many years, Song Shizhao has not married a wife, let alone a wife. There are no other women in the house except the cook and the maid. He lives like an ascetic. He heard from the old servant that Song Shizhao only eats food. Eat one dish and one meal.
Occasionally do not eat white rice, it is yellow noodle bun.
When Lin Yuan arrived, Song Shizhao was gasping for breath on the bed. He was thin before, but now he is thinner. When Lin Yuan appeared, his eyes suddenly lit up!
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty..." Song Shizhao stretched out his hand and said with difficulty, "Shu Weichen can't... salute you..."
Lin Yuan walked to Song Shizhao's side, squatted down, and held Song Shizhao's outstretched hand.
He found at this time that he couldn't keep Song Shizhao, and God wanted to take Song Shizhao away, and mortals had nothing to do.
Song Shizhao looked at Lin Yuan, he grinned, the teeth in his mouth were almost lost, and only a pair of front teeth were left standing.
This emperor was assisted by him.
To this day, Song Shizhao feels that he is the most fortunate person. When the times were troubled, with so many advisors and staff, how many people really admired the people he followed
No one else has done it, but Song Shizhao has done it! With this alone, even if he died, he should die with a smile!
But he was reluctant. He watched the growth of this emperor with his own eyes. He watched the young man shrink in a small stockade, and then watched the young man ignite his ambition, conquer the city little by little, and become the current emperor.
He was really reluctant, he felt that he could live for decades to die with his emperor.
But God wouldn't give him that much time.
Song Shizhao's fingers moved, and his words were a little leaky, but he still tried to articulate each word clearly: "Your Majesty, the Mongolian side should be tender, and now is not the time, the Hu people can do business, but they must not be allowed to do so. Get whatever technology we have."
This time, Lin Yuan didn't call himself "I." He looked into Song Shizhao's eyes and said seriously, "I know, sir."
Song Shizhao coughed desperately, Lin Yuan stretched out his hand to pat him on the back and said, "Your Majesty, after I die, Zheng Qingfeng will be available, he is Qingliu, and he has been trained in the Duchayuan, and he has no foundation in the court. For the best."
"Others... Others don't have to think about it, he or they either have insufficient xinxing, or both have the best of both worlds."
Lin Yuan: "I know."
Song Shizhao smiled at Lin Yuan.
His Majesty, he looked at the growing Majesty, is it already this age
But he feels that he is still young, and he still has a lot of things he wants to do.
Song Shizhao's eyes were empty, he thought of a long time ago, when he was still on the mountain.
There are no years in the mountains. He and his brothers read and write every day. They can't afford paper and pens, so they use their fingers to write on the soil, or write letters like in ancient times, and the blood on their hands has not stopped.
The elders told them that only by learning a lot can they restore the orthodoxy and reproduce the Song Dynasty in the future.
At that time, like his brothers, he hoped to go down the mountain one day, find the legacy of the royal family, and show what he had learned, so that he could live up to the hardships he studied since childhood.
If the current Song Shizhao said it, the fallen dynasty would not have to lift it up again.
Only new, new dynasties, new people, and new emperors can truly allow them to show their worth.
But as time passed, the elders died one by one, and the hearts of the brothers became alive.
They are all young and energetic, why do they live in such a deep mountain and an old forest? The first cousin sneaked down the mountain at night. So far, Song Shizhao has not found him, and it is estimated that he is already dead.
With the first one, the rest have gone one by one.
If it weren't for the fact that he was the only one left in the end, he still didn't want to go down the mountain.
Because the bottom of the mountain is not messy enough.
To be chaotic to the extreme, his appearance will have more weight.
Song Shizhao remembered the past, with a smile on the corner of his mouth, Lin Yuan did not speak, just looked at him quietly.
Later, he had no entanglement or food, and was caught by a businessman in the wild. At first, he didn't know what he was going to do, and he didn't know what he would do in the future. That was the first time Song Shizhao felt the word fear.
He is not afraid of death, he is afraid that his death is worthless, no one knows Song Shizhao, no one knows that he has prepared for this troubled world for nearly a lifetime!
If he dies, he won't be able to go down in history, not even a laughing stock.
Song Shizhao breathed a sigh of relief when he was brought into the stockade. He was willing to be a coolie and work. As long as he didn't let him die, he still had hope.
He survived, he did not starve to death, nor was he beaten to death. As long as he worked, he could have enough to eat, and he did not have to work all day long. Because he was old, the people in the stockade took good care of him.
It was also at that time that he noticed the owner of the stockade.
In his eyes, Lin Yuan, who was innocent, weak and young.
But at that time, Lin Yuan was innocent with a strange cruelty.
Song Shizhao looked at the various orders issued by Lin Yuan, and figured it out by himself, and found that this order could be called "the servant lives, the violator dies".
He is ruthless and doesn't talk about friendship.
Even the laws of the imperial court have never been outside of human feelings.
For such a village owner, Song Shizhao only felt his blood boiled. He urgently needed to find a master for himself, assist him, achieve him, and realize his self-worth. He took a risky move.
Then he was caught by Lin Yuan, and that was the first time he had spoken to this young village owner.
There was scrutiny and suspicion on the young man's face.
His eyes were cold and ruthless, as if he was not looking at a person, but at an item, to see how much the item was worth, whether it was worth reaching out and taking it down.
Perhaps Lin Yuan himself didn't know what kind of expression he had at that time.
But Song Shizhao remembered it clearly. After so many years, he never forgot it for a moment.
Then he followed Lin Yuan and became a strategist. At the beginning, Lin Yuan used him, but he did not trust him.
At that time, he was full of confidence, and felt that Lin Yuan would soon believe in himself, because he really sincerely served Lin Yuan as the master.
Song Shizhao felt that between rulers and ministers, just like between husband and wife, the husband can take care of himself, but the wife must be loyal.
Although he felt that this truth was not reasonable, it was useful, because wives depended on their husbands to live, and ministers depended on emperors to live.
He must be more faithful than a wife who loves her husband.
Only in this way can he climb higher and gain Lin Yuan's trust.
Song Shizhao thought of the past and felt unbelievable. He actually helped Lin Yuan to become the emperor, and he himself became the prime minister. Even when he was young and frivolous, he never dared to imagine such a day.
If he hadn't met Lin Yuan at that time, perhaps he would have died long ago, either in death or in his heart.
Talent is talent where it can be used, and no, it's bullshit.
He watched His Majesty change from a young boy to a tough young man, from innocent cruelty to mature ruthlessness. Every change in His Majesty made him happy.
"Your Majesty..." Song Shizhao opened his mouth and said, "After I die, bury me in the capital, I... I want to be here and watch Your Majesty..."
Lin Yuan said softly, "Yes, don't worry."
Song Shizhao also said: "Zheng Qingfeng, Ke, Ke Xiang."
Lin Yuan held his hand: "After you leave, I will remove the position of prime minister. You are my first and only prime minister."
Song Shizhao opened his mouth wide, gasping for breath. Tears fell from the corners of his eyes. He opened and closed his mouth a few times before he said, "Chen, Xie, Xie Lord Longen..."
"This life of my minister..." Song Shizhao looked at Lin Yuan, "It's worth it."
Lin Yuan added: "I will build a university in your name, your family wealth will serve as a scholarship, and countless students will receive your favor. After a hundred years, someone will still remember you."
Song Shizhao's hands trembled violently, and he finally couldn't help crying: "Your Majesty... Your Majesty... This old minister doesn't want to die..."
"Your Majesty, the old minister still wants and wants to follow you again."
Lin Yuan: "In the next life, you will be prime minister for me."
Song Shizhao laughed more ugly than crying: "Your Majesty, don't let it go, don't pinch and dislike the old minister."
Lin Yuan smiled and said, "When you were with me in your life, you were not young, you were as old as an old bangzi."
Song Shizhao looked at Lin Yuan's face and looked deeply, as if he wanted to engrave this face on his own three souls and six souls, and remember it in the next life.
Lin Yuan said softly, "Sir, don't worry."
Song Shizhao was moved by Lin Yuan's hand, and he said, "Your Majesty, the old minister is leaving first..."