Wei Changfeng opened his palm and revealed a ball of paper. Wei Changying glanced at it and saw that the paper looked like a piece of paper used for impromptu poems on the Wei family's banquet. He asked curiously: "What is this?"
"Just now I looked at the lights on the porch on the way..." Before Wei Changfeng finished speaking, Wei Changying had already quickly taken it. She originally thought there was something written on the paper, but she didn't want to put it down, but it seemed like After wrapping something up, I unfolded it - it was an iron sign the size of a baby's hand.
There is a hole punched in the top of the iron plate, as if it is for a rope to pass through and hang. The card is engraved with tadpole-like characters or graphics, not seal characters or oracle bones... The Wei family has a prosperous style of writing. Although Wei Changying is uneducated and has no skills, he has good eyesight. The characters on it are not Chinese characters at all, but more like those of the Rong people. Word.
The whole iron plate has a rough style, but it also gives off a sense of weight. Although it is dark and inconspicuous, it really cannot be regarded as an ordinary thing.
Wei Changying looked at it for a long time and was puzzled. He raised it in front of his younger brother and asked doubtfully: "What is this? Who gave it to you?"
Wei Changfeng whispered: "While we were having a drink at the banquet, I moved to Song Duan to ask about the war, but without asking a few words, the fourth brother pulled my sleeve from behind and wanted to talk to Song Duan, so I let him... But I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to explain to you when I came back, so I chose a seat nearby and sat down, waiting for Fourth Brother and Song Duan to finish talking before going over. I didn't want someone from the envoy from the north of the state to come over to chat with me and toast me while no one was paying attention. , gave me this ball of paper."
Although Wei Gaochuan and Wei Gaochan were not born from the same mother, they both belonged to the third family. Now the Wei family wanted to betroth Wei Gaochan to Song Duan. Although the elders had already made the decision, as half-brothers, they were The concubine's words to Song Duan not only made Wei Gaochan feel more confident, but also implicitly warned Song Duan - not only did Wei Gaochan have a family background, but her brother was also willing to stand up for her.
This is what it should be. Wei Zhang Yingzi would not blame Wei Changfeng for giving up his seat to Wei Gaochuan. Putting this aside, he asked curiously: "Do you know the envoy who gave you this thing?"
"My grandfather introduced me before the banquet, so I recognized him naturally." Wei Changfeng said without hesitation, "The man's name is Lu Zifan, and he was originally Bo, the lord of Liao City. When the Rong invaded the city, Wei Xu, the magistrate of Liao City, and Wei Ju, the county prime minister He personally led the city's sergeants to block the breached east and north gates, and ordered Lu Zifan to lead the young men in the city to escort women and children to escape from the remaining two gates... All the survivors of the burning city survived, including Lu Zifan. This time Song Han included him as an envoy because he wanted to protect the people and gave him a chance to meet his grandfather and third uncle. "
He pointed to the iron plate in the paper ball and said in a very solemn tone, "Sister, I don't know this, but I know it. This is the amulet of the Rong people."
Guard Chief Ying asked in surprise: "Amulet?"
"My grandfather asked me to write "Rejecting the Rong Fu" before. I found some classics in my grandfather's study that recorded the Rong people." Wei Changfeng frowned and said, "The Rong people believe in ghosts and gods. The status of the high priest in the clan, Only under the Great Khan. Whenever they have a son, they will go to the high priest's tent to ask for a protective object. Such an iron plate is not something ordinary Rong people can ask for. After all, the Rong people are not familiar with smelting. , Iron tools are all obtained from the Central Plains, and are very precious, so this small iron plate must be obtained by people with some status among the Rong people."
Guard Chief Ying's expression changed and he said: "It is said that a protective object will never leave the body easily. Now that it is in the hands of Lu Zifan, one can imagine the fate of this Rong man! Could it be that the Rong captured or killed this time Is there anyone important among them? But I haven’t heard about it. What do the Song family want to do to hide this?”
Wei Changfeng glanced at his sister and said softly: "Sister, it may not be that Song Han and his son wanted to hide something... Do you think that this kind of amulet was given to me by Lu Zifen, but not by Song Han or Song Duan? Lu Zifan has only one merit, which is to protect the people! He has never fought seriously with the Rong people, so why did he get this kind of belongings belonging to a high-ranking Rong people? "
"Have you gone and told your grandfather?" Wei Changying instinctively sensed that something was wrong with Song Han and his son and asked.
"Grandpa just drank a few too many drinks at the table." Wei Changfeng sighed and said, "Now that I have a rest, don't bother me. Otherwise, why would I tell my eldest sister about such a thing first? I must let my grandfather know first. I'm not worried. After all, Song Han and his son are just a branch of the Song family, and they are under the jurisdiction of the third uncle. No matter what they do wrong, my grandfather can control them. I just thought about the third uncle and betrothed the fourth sister to them. Song Duan, don't forget that Song Duan is not a good man, but now that the news is out... it would be bad if he misses the fourth sister's life. "
-His words can be regarded as a prophecy. The next day, Wei Huan sobered up and heard Wei Changfeng's report. He immediately changed his color and ordered him to take out the iron plate and look at it carefully. Based on Wei Huan's experience and the city, at that moment He sneered: "Although Beihu are collectively called Rong people, in fact there are also tribes among Rong people. If the Rong language on this iron plate is translated into our Chinese, it would be 'Chidu'. I guess the original owner of this iron plate They should be close relatives of the Khan of the Rong Chidu tribe... This Chidu tribe is said to be the maternal clan of the uncle of the Great Khan of the Rong. Now when the Great Khan of the Rong succeeded to the throne of the old Khan, he was blocked and provoked by his uncle. If it were not for the high priest Even so, the high priest is only under the great khan, and it is expected that the great khan will have a hard time now. "
As the leader of the Wei clan, Wei Huan was not as famous as Wei Shigu in the family in terms of talent and fame, but he was no less knowledgeable than Wei Shigu, and he even dabbled in Rong language and Rong people's writing.
In fact, Wei Changfeng will also learn these in the future, but now he is still young and has not yet mastered classics and history. Wei Huan did not want him to be distracted, so he did not understand the words on the iron plate. At this moment, Wei Changfeng said in surprise. : "Grandfather, could it be that the burning of the city was done by the uncle of the Rongren Great Khan who wanted to force the Great Khan to abdicate?" This victory in the northern part of the state is worthy of celebration compared to the entire Wei Dynasty. It was a great achievement, but of course it caused heavy losses to the Rong people. Since the status of the Great Khan of the Rong people was not so stable, the tribes under his rule suffered such losses and asked the Great Khan to help send troops to seek "justice". If the Great Khan refused, It will definitely shake people's hearts. If it is allowed, although the Wei Dynasty is gradually declining, the country has not been exhausted yet, and it is not the time for the Rong people to invade on a large scale, even if there is Qiudi to the west of the Wei Dynasty...
The great Rong Khan was in a dilemma, so naturally this was his uncle's opportunity...
Wei Huan glanced at his grandson with approval, but shook his head and said, "It's hard to say. You have to listen carefully to confirm. When I said the origin of this iron plate, I meant that Song Han and his son were really big. courage!"
Wei Changfeng thought thoughtfully: "Is there really an inside story about the great victory in Zhoubei?" He felt something was wrong when he talked to Wei Changying yesterday, but after all, he was young and encountered such a thing for the first time. After all, there was something wrong Not sure. Now that Wei Huanyi said Song Han and Song Duan, it was tantamount to confirming his guess.
"Isn't it just an inside story?" Wei Huan sneered, "I originally thought that Song Han would share his contribution to his eldest son so that Song Duan could propose marriage to my family! I didn't expect this guy to be so brave, he actually dared to take away someone else's The credit goes to his son - no wonder the northern part of the state has been peaceful, Song Han sent his son back to Fengzhou to report the victory. Although he led the army behind, he refused to march in a hurry on the pretext of casualties and the need to rest! I’m afraid I’m trying my best to keep it quiet now!”
He pointed to the iron plate, "I got this thing from the priest, and the Rong people kept it close to their bodies. They never took it off until they died, and were buried with the corpse! The Rong people live a nomadic life, unlike our people in the Wei Dynasty who live in settled places." In one place, a horse runs all year round. In order to prevent such important things from being lost and difficult to find, they are tied around the neck with very short and very strong threads and cannot be withdrawn from the head. Occasionally, they are left to future generations. But later generations will do the same thing! So this iron plate was probably obtained after beheading. If my guess is correct, the Zhoubei victory is correct. After all, some of the results of the battle have been sent back by Song Duan for inspection. The appearance of the Rong people is different from mine. It is impossible for the people of China to kill good people and take credit! But it is difficult to say how much credit Song Han and his son had for this great victory... This iron plate alone was not only the leader of the Rong people who jumped into the northern part of the state this time, but also the deputy generals! Song Hanke deserves all the credit for killing the enemy! How could this iron plate be handed over to you by Lu Zifan, who has never fought against the Rong people?"
"The enemy leader must have been killed by someone related to Lu Zifan. As for whether the credit for ambushing the Rong people belongs to this person, it is not known! After all, beheading the enemy leader was done by a brave general. We in Fengzhou have many bloody men. It is not easy to get such a handsome man who can command an ambush of the Rong people. Of course, our Wei family is more capable than a general!" Wei Huan said coldly, "So if the ambush of the Rong people is the result of Song Han or Song Duan, There is no need to grab the credit for killing the enemy leader... I'm afraid these two achievements were done by the same person. Since Song Han has robbed him, he will simply take them both!"
Wei Changfeng didn't expect that a piece of iron plate would lead to so many things. He couldn't help frowning and sighing, "Yesterday, I talked with the eldest sister and guessed that there were some problems with Song Duan's credit. But Fengzhou is the ancestral home of my Wei family. How dare Han and his son do such a thing? How could he be so sure of hiding this from his grandfather?"
"It's impossible to hide it from me for a long time, but you can hide it for a short time..." Wei Huan said cheerfully, "That Lu Zifan who gave you the iron plate, think about his origin? There is no Lu family name in the state. I remember he was a commoner, right? Wei Xu accidentally discovered that he was talented and promoted him specially after he took office!"
Wei Huan nodded, and Wei Changfeng suddenly came to his senses: "If Song Han takes the credit away from me, a descendant of the Wei family, or another descendant of other prominent surnames in the state, it is naturally impossible to hide it from my grandfather, but if it is a commoner, then..."
The distinction between scholars and common people is like a natural chasm. Song Han is not only a branch of the Song family, but also a disciple of the clan. Although Wei Huan and Mrs. Song both disliked that his background was inferior to theirs, compared to Li Shu... Song Han and Song Duan were all their own.
What's more, it's not easy for Song Han to see Wei Huan, let alone ordinary people. And if Song Han failed to silence him, how could he not have taken precautions against this? He is the governor of Fengzhou, and it is justifiable that he does not allow common people to come near Ruiyu Hall and other places on the pretext of protecting the safety of everyone in the Wei family. Even if that person is not willing to be robbed of his credit, how can he seek justice if there is no one who can do justice to him
Taking a step back, the news that Wei Gaochan will marry Song Duan has spread. Once the engagement ceremony has been carried out, even if Wei Huan finds out later, how can the Fengzhou Wei family go back on her word? What's more, her husband's family is still a son of the Song family who has a marriage agreement with the Wei family for generations. For the sake of his granddaughter and the reputation of his family, Wei Huan could at most reprimand Song Han and his son in private. It was impossible for him to reveal the matter and go to war to vindicate a common man.
When the time comes, no matter how sincerely Song Han and Song Duan admit their mistakes... it is impossible for the Wei family to take Wei Gaochan back to her parents' home. After all, all the girls are married. No matter how annoyed Wei Huan is about the bad conduct of these two people, they have to continue to support Song Duan.
"If Lu Zifan hadn't been able to attend the banquet last night, Chang Ying would have asked you to inquire about the war in the north of the state in detail. Gao Chuan wanted to support Gao Chan... The seats were changed so that you gave him a chance!" Wei Huan said with a sullen face. He said, "If it weren't for such a coincidence, how could this iron plate get into your hands without attracting attention? We... Hehe, our family has a lot of things to do now. Song Han has full authority to decide the battle in the north of the state. As long as the results sent by Zhou Bei are correct, how can we doubt Song Han again?"
Writing letters to the court for merit and good news, appeasing the people in the state, tracing the reason why the Rong people entered Fengzhou, secretly fighting with Wei Qi and the Liu family of Donghu... Although Wei Huan was smart, he had many things to take care of, and it was inevitable that he would sometimes be negligent.
Wei Changfeng's expression turned ugly: "Song Han did this just to propose marriage to his third uncle and to trick his fourth sister into marrying him. It's really too much."
"Send someone to protect Lu Zifan first." Wei Huan twirled his beard and concentrated for a moment, then told the confidant behind him with a sullen face, "Although it was you who took the initiative to sit near him by chance last night, he also took advantage of it. No one paid attention to the thing given to you... But there are many people at the banquet. Once Song Duan finds out, this person's life may be in danger! "
He added, "Since Lu Zifan has been entrusted to hand over this iron plate to you, it seems that the person who was robbed of his credit has some ability and has been able to escape so far!"
Wei Changfeng watched the young man bow and agree before going out to deliver the message, and reminded: "Grandpa, the fourth sister's marriage..." Since Song Han and Song Duan are such good people, Wei Gaochan certainly can't marry them. The problem is now The news has been released, and everyone in the city knows that the hero of the great victory in the northern part of the state is going to be the father-in-law of the Wei family. If we don't deal with this matter as soon as possible, we are afraid that Song Han and Song Duan will be forced to marry him, which would be a great injustice to Wei. High cicada.
"Go and talk to your grandmother, and take it easy in advance." Wei Huan said, "Your grandmother has her own concerns." His mind was obviously not on the marriage of a concubine's granddaughter, and he continued, "I'll be back after you finish talking. "I will have Lu Zifan secretly brought to the study for questioning later. You can listen together." This incident once again made Wei Huan feel the helplessness of his young grandson, in the huge Ruiyu Hall, in the middle of the court. There is only one second son, Wei Shengyi, and he is the only one in Fengzhou... It was fine at first, but with so many things going on, it is really difficult to handle it. It would be too pampering for the grandson who has already tied up his hair to continue to concentrate on studying, so he should teach him. .
Wei Changfeng hurriedly bowed and said: "Yes!" (To be continued)