The couple smiled together and returned the gift: "Thank you Mr. Liu for the compliment."
Liu Guang was quite straightforward. When he saw Hua Rong saluting him, he quickly sang to her again: "Zhang Sanlang brags about how beautiful his country is every day. If he meets Mrs. Yue, he will be so ashamed that he hits the wall..."
"Zhang Sanlang" is Zhang Jun's ranking. One of Zhang Jun's concubines was a famous prostitute in Yangzhou and was known for her beauty. The main wives and concubines of the three generals were all famous prostitutes. Han Zhongliang also had three prostitutes who were said to be beautiful and charming. Liu Guang himself had two concubines who were born as famous prostitutes. Liu Guang himself was a rough man and would say whatever he thought of. After he finished speaking, he realized that the emperor was in the queue, and he turned sideways in embarrassment.
Zhao Deji didn't take it seriously and just said: "Pengju, I'm calling you back to Beijing this time because I have important matters to discuss. Nowadays, our Song Dynasty is suffering from internal and external troubles. We are threatened by the army of the puppet Qi and Liu Yu, as well as Dongting in the south. The lake bandits are rampant. You are stationed in Xiangyang, and the two lakes are where you are stationed. What do you think about the water bandits? "
There is a group of villagers in Dongting Lake who gathered in boats to revolt in the early years and claimed the water as king. At first, the court did not pay attention to it. But now, unexpectedly, it has grown to hundreds of thousands of villagers, gathered in the lake and became an independent king. The leader Yang Yi calls himself "Yang Tianwang" ”.
The Dongting area was one of the important sources of grain and rice for the imperial court at that time. Now it was occupied by King Yang Tian. The imperial court had no way of making money. Naturally, it regarded this group of water pirates as its most serious concern.
According to Yue Pengju's plan, he originally attacked the puppet Qi Dynasty first and then eliminated the internal troubles. However, seeing that the emperor clearly prioritized the water bandits, he thought for a moment and then said: "The country is in a difficult situation. How dare I refuse to refuse? When I first arrived in Xiangyang, I stopped by to check on the enemy. In Huxiang, the officers and soldiers are good at land warfare, and the water bandits are good at boat fighting. Moreover, the several troop dispatches are in autumn and winter, which is when the water bandits have abundant food and grass. Naturally, they cannot defeat the enemy by taking advantage of their own shortcomings. In my opinion, it is not as good as Change your strategy and take advantage of the hot summer season to attack..."
Zhao Deji was worried about this. He had listened to the suggestions of many generals, but they were all unsatisfactory. Hearing Yue Pengju's words, he nodded secretly, thinking that Yue Pengju was indeed different from others, so he said: "We will discuss this matter again. It is getting late now. Give me a feast first."
A banquet given by the royal family is no small matter.
Three tables were set up, and Zhao Deji took the first seat; Yue Pengju and his wife were at the table, and Liu Guang was at the table.
There was a kind of expensive coconut wine on the table. Zhao Deji took three large gold bottles and asked people to pour them full for Yue Pengju and Liu Guang. Knowing that Hua Rong was in poor health and could not drink, he only poured half a cup for Hua Rong. Originally, the emperor was giving a banquet and it was such an occasion for generals. It would be extremely impolite for a woman to appear. Liu Guangzheng was surprised. Zhao Deji smiled and said, "Rong'er has been with me at sea for a long time. Although she is a female, she deserves a lot of credit for her escort." You are better than all the generals. If I get the opportunity today, I will definitely toast you personally..."
Hua Rong laughed and stood up: "It's all thanks to the blessings of the officials that Hua Rong can be where he is today. I also want to thank the officials for their generous kindness..."
Only then did Liu Guang understand the reason, and he raised his glass again and said, "Mrs. Yue is a heroine, and I would like to toast you and your wife."
The couple drank with a smile. Zhao Deji smiled and said: "This is the coconut wine that General Liu presented to me. It is very delicious..."
Liu Guangshi was very proud: "In the army, I followed the instructions of the imperial court and went back to business and made a lot of money. It was thanks to His Majesty Hongfu that I purchased this wine from Guangzhou."
The so-called "Huiyi" refers to doing business in the army. At that time, the imperial court was extremely short of funds, and it was common for the army to be in arrears with food and salary. To solve this problem, the imperial court allowed miscellaneous soldiers in the army to engage in business transactions to subsidize military salaries. Miscellaneous soldiers It is the logistics other than the main combat force, such as the Huotou Army, soldiers transporting grain and grass, etc.
In the past two years, Yue Peng also gradually started to "return to trade" in his army, but all the money gained was used on military equipment, so naturally it was not as generous as Liu Guang. He took a sip and praised: "It's really delicious. "
Liu Guang was proud of himself: "I am also known as Tao Zhugong in the army..."
Tao Zhugong was Fan Li, a famous minister of Wu and Yue in the Spring and Autumn Period. He retired after success and lived in seclusion with his beautiful woman. He was known as the richest man in the world. Later, "Tao Zhugong" became synonymous with the rich. This allusion is naturally Liu Guang was told by others. At this time, he proudly said it. Zhao Deji drank a drink and said with a smile: "I want you to be Wei Qing and Huo Qubing of the Song Dynasty, not to be Tao Zhugong..."
Liu Guang didn't know who Wei Qing and Huo Qubing were. Hearing the emperor's half-joking, half-blaming tone, he hurriedly said: "I wonder which dynasty Wei Qing and Huo are from?"
He heard Wei Qinghuo Qubing as "Wei Qinghuo", Zhao Deji laughed loudly, and seeing Hua Rong on the side couldn't help laughing, he said: "Rong'er, please explain for General Liu..."
Hua Rong smiled and told Liu Guang about the deeds of Wei Qing and Huo Qubing. Her voice was clear and clear. Although she was smiling, she was not sarcastic. Liu Guang also had no sense of shame. After listening to Hua Rong's gentle explanation, he just said : "Thank you, Mrs. Yue, I understand."
Zhao Deji looked at his Confucian scholar's clothes and said with a smile: "Liu Guang, you have been with me for many years, how come you have never been able to read or write?"
Liu Guang laughed at himself: "I know Han Wu, and Zhang Sanlang is also illiterate..." Han Wu is Han Zhongliang, and it is well known that he and Zhang Jun are illiterate.
Zhao Deji sighed: "Of the four generals, only Pengju is literate. In your spare time, you should also read and practice calligraphy and learn from Yue Pengju."
Yue Peng said anxiously: "I don't dare, I only know a few words."
At this banquet, everyone was in an unprecedented cheerful mood because of Liu Guang's joke. This was also the reason why Zhao Deji invited him to the banquet. The jokes made by these illiterate warriors often made him overjoyed. They were like the harem. It’s something that even beautiful women can’t get.
After the banquet, Liu Guang resigned, and Yue Pengju and his wife were also about to retire, when Zhao Deji said: "Rong'er, I want to talk to you alone."
Hua Rong looked at her husband, Yue Pengju smiled and gave her a casual wink, and then she said: "Hua Rong obeys the order."
Yue Pengju's eyes were so clever that even Zhao Deji didn't see it. He only told Hua Rong to go back to the study and close the door.
He took a closer look at Hua Rong. The woman who he thought was seriously injured and about to die was now smiling like a flower. How could she look like she was critically ill? He only asked: "Rong'er, it was really hard for you to go to the Kingdom of Jin, and you almost lost your life..."
Hua Rong had already reported in detail what he had seen and heard during his trip to the Kingdom of Jin in his letter. At this time, when he asked about it, he could no longer bear it and told the story of what happened to Empress Dowager Wei and Empress Xing.
Although Zhao Deji had already read the letter, he was very moved and burst into tears when hearing Hua Rong's personal account.
Hua Rong said cautiously: "Guan Jia, I look at the situation in the Jin Kingdom. Only by defeating them with overwhelming military superiority can negotiations be possible..."
Zhao Deji nodded: "I have summoned the four generals these days to eliminate internal and external troubles and truly welcome back my mother..." He wanted to say "Two Saints", but he did not act in front of Hua Rong.
When Hua Rong heard that he didn't mention it, she felt somewhat comforted in her heart. After all, the official family had not completely acted in front of her. Therefore, she had some hope: "The official family, Hua Rong is the fourth prince of the Jin Kingdom. I have seen the faces of Qin Hui and his wife with my own eyes. These two people are really those who harbor evil intentions... "
Zhao Deji pondered for a moment: "Rong'er, it's not just you, Princess Tianwei also mentioned this to me. I'm honest, I will be careful..."
Hua Rong was overjoyed: "The official is a sage."
In his memory, this seemed to be the first time she had said such compliments in front of him. Zhao Deji sighed: "Rong'er, I have been worried about you in those days when you were seriously injured. I was very sad when I heard Wang Jixian say that you were dead..."
"Haha, these days, I have received a large amount of precious Ganoderma lucidum from the official family. In addition, Pengju hunted many tigers and leopards to nourish me. Thanks to the official family's great blessing and thanks to God, I am gradually getting better..."
Zhao Deji felt melancholy when he heard her sincere thanks. From the beginning to the end, the beauty was like a flower in the clouds. When she was seriously injured, he also felt sad and pitiful, but he felt faintly relaxed in his heart, thinking that no one would get it after all. Unexpectedly, one day, one day , she stood up again, her appearance and style were even better than before, but she was already as beautiful as a flower and jade, standing side by side with Yue Pengju, she was known to everyone in the world as "Mrs. Yue".
He felt very complicated and disappointed. He was speechless for a long time, and Hua Rong saw the opportunity and left.
In the waiting room outside, Yue Pengju greeted his wife. The two were about to go out when Zhao Deji came out of the study with a smile on his face: "I heard that you two adopted Lu Deng's orphan?"
Yue Pengju hurriedly said: "I am honored to adopt Mr. Lu's orphan, Lu Wenlong. Because of the long journey to Beijing, I did not bring him. In my haste, I forgot to report it to Your Majesty. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."
Zhao Deji sighed: "Master Lu, your husband and wife are separated, and their loyalty and steadfastness are known to the world. I regret that I did not comfort his surviving family. Now, I am really happy to know that he has a successor. Pengju, Lu Wenlong will still be raised by you and your wife, and you will be given a title. Two thousand pieces of silver and a hundred pieces of brocade will bring peace to his life..."
Both husband and wife were overjoyed and hurriedly thanked him.
Seeing Hua Rong, Zhao Deji was overjoyed and thanked her. Suddenly he remembered that Wang Jixian said that Hua Rong would not be able to have children even if he recovered. This must be the case. He even enthusiastically adopted Lu Wenlong. He himself had a disease and could not have children. He felt sorry for Hua Rong because he had the same disease. With pity, he just said: "Rong'er, thank you for the hard work. If you raise your child well, it will be better than having your own child."
Hua Rong happily saluted again: "Thank you so much, officials. Hua Rong will definitely treat Wen Long's child as his own son."
Zhao Deji then said: "By the way, there is one more thing I forgot to tell you. Princess Tianwei will get married in half a month... Rong'er, you are also considered an old friend of Tianwei. You can stay in the capital for the time being and wait for her wedding. leave."
The couple immediately said: "Yes."
The two of them retired. Zhao Deji walked around for a few steps. Wu Jinnu came in with a cup of ginseng soup and said with a smile: "Guan family, Mrs. Yue has recovered?"
"That's right. Wang Jixian personally said that she was dead, but he didn't expect that she actually got better. It's a pity that she can't have children..." Wu Jinnu observed the words and expressions. She knew the hidden diseases of the official family, and she also knew the thoughts of the official family that outsiders didn't know. In order to In order to cure his sexual disorder, he has an almost perverted need for women. No matter whether they are in the palace or outside the palace, he will accept all comers, as if he wants to find a strange stimulation and "brighten up" in one fell swoop. Just because In this way, Wang Junhua entered the palace every day, coupled with the pretentiousness and frequent glances. For the emperor, the stimulation of this "infidelity" was naturally better than the submissiveness of the women in his harem. Therefore, for a period of time, he had feelings for Wang Junhua. Got a little interested.
But she didn't know whether the Guan family had "revived themselves" in one fell swoop. What she was afraid of was that Hua Rong's return would stimulate the Guan family's "hope" again. When she heard that she was still infertile, she was really ecstatic and quickly said cautiously: " Mrs. Yue's adoption of the son of a loyal minister is enough to comfort her... In this way, he and his wife are really good at serving the country with all their strength... "
"Too."
"Mrs. Yue's role in protecting her husband is far inferior to that of my concubines and others. This time when she comes to Beijing, I, my concubines and others, will have a great banquet to thank her."
"Mrs. Wu is still virtuous. If you do this, you will have a lot of work."