Destroy Jin and conquer Song, and carry the Northern Expedition through to the end

Chapter 506: Wen meets Wen Hao

Earlier in the night, Xin Qiji and Xin Wulang took off their military armor, untied the swords they carried with them, put on a white robe, and wore a golden crown and jade hairpin on their heads.

Apart from having a slightly darker skin, Xin Qiji instantly transformed from a brave warrior who had fought in countless battles into a gentle and refined scholar.

Liu Huai originally wanted to pin a big red flower on Xin Qiji's head, but was sternly rejected by this guy.

Liu Huai himself felt very sorry about this.

In the evening, Xin Qiji brought Luo Huaiyan, who served as a servant and supporting actor, to the pleasure boat. After handing the invitation to the guard at the door, he walked in leisurely with his hands behind his back.

The servant guarding the door of the painted boat did not dare to be negligent at all, because the invitation brought by Xin Qiji was requested by Yu Yunwen himself from the leader of the group. Leader Zhao, who was in charge of tens of thousands of grain workers at that time, was surprised and happy. He never expected that such a powerful and popular person would be interested in the poetry meeting he organized, so he hurriedly sent the invitation with the highest standards.

Although Yu Yunwen and Chen Junqing had already arrived together, Xin Qiji, since he had Yu Yunwen's invitation, naturally had a very close relationship with him. Zhao Xingshou did not dare to neglect him at all. Although he himself could not leave, he sent his eldest son and his two good friends to greet them.

"My name is Zhao Mingzheng. May I know your name?"

After all, he had been in the business world for a long time. Although he saw Xin Qiji's outstanding temperament, Zhao Mingzheng did not feel nervous and bowed directly.

Xin Qiji was not arrogant and returned the greeting with a similar bow: "I am Xin Qiji from Shandong. I am the fifth child in my family. You can just call me Wulang."

If there were high-ranking officials of the Song Dynasty in these families, they might have heard of this name a long time ago, but unfortunately, Zhao Mingzheng was from a merchant family, and his two good friends, one was studying and the other had fallen on hard times, so they had never heard of it.

However, even so, when they heard Xin Qiji claim to be from Shandong, the three of them inevitably had some associations.

In addition, he came with Yu Yunwen's invitation, so Zhao Mingzheng felt that this person was most likely a military advisor in the Jingnan Army or a military clerk. However, he did not dare to neglect him and directly introduced the two people beside him.

"These two are my best friends." Zhao Mingzheng pointed to a young man of about seventeen or eighteen and said, "This is Chen Runeng from Wuzhou, also known by his courtesy name Tongfu, the eldest of the family.

Despite his young age, two years ago Chen Dalang was able to combine military books and discuss in detail the five monarchs headed by Emperor Guangwu of Han Liu Xiu, as well as fourteen meritorious ministers and strategists such as Han Xin, Zhuge Liang, and Sang Weihan who assisted in deciding the fate of the country. He used the past to discuss the past and named it "Zhuo Gu Lun".

Zhou Kui, the military governor of Wuzhou, read the book and was highly impressed by Chen Dalang, praising him as a "future national hero" and treating him as a distinguished guest. Afterward, Chen Dalang passed both the Liangzhe Transportation Bureau's autumn examination and the annual grain transport examination, and was recommended to Lin'an, demonstrating a promising future.

The young man smiled and waved his hand, but didn't refuse. Instead, he talked about something else: "Zhao Dalang, we met so hastily that I forgot to tell you that before I rushed to Lin'an, my father changed my name to Liang, which is the same name as the financier who was just captured in Jiankang."

Chen Liang.

Xin Qiji chewed the name over in his mind twice, then clasped his fists and said, "I've heard a lot about you."

Chen Liang's face turned stern. "Xin Wulang is so hypocritical! I'm over twenty, how could I have any reputation? On the contrary, this brother Zhu beside me is the world-renowned talent."

Zhao Mingzheng duly introduced the thirty-year-old man on his right: "This is Zhu Xi of Chong'an, courtesy name Yuanhui, the third child in his family. He once studied under great Confucian scholars of his time, including Master Yanxiu, Master Yuanzhong, Master Yanchong, and Mr. Baishui.

At the age of eighteen, he passed the Jianzhou County Examination and was admitted as a gongsheng. At the age of nineteen, he entered the capital for the imperial examination and ranked ninetieth in the fifth class of the Wangzuo list. He was granted the title of Jinshi by imperial decree. At this time, he had returned from his official travels and was studying with Mr. Yanping.

Xin Qiji had never heard of most of the names Zhao Mingzheng was referring to. However, one person sounded familiar to him. After a moment's hesitation, he asked solemnly, "Excuse me, is Lord Yanxiu the Liu Ziyu who once fought against the Jin invaders in Hanzhong? Lord Liu?"

Zhu Xi, a tall and strong man, was instantly excited when he heard this: "Could it be that my father's reputation is now also in Shandong?"

Xin Qiji was surprised again.

Zhu Xi seemed unsurprised, waved his huge right hand and said, "I lost my father when I was young, and my mother took me to live with my father's good friend, my adoptive father, Lord Yan Xiu.

Under my adoptive father's tutelage, I learned both civil and military skills, and was able to take the imperial examinations to serve my country. My adoptive father has been a lifelong benefactor, so I usually call Master Yanxiu "Father."

Different from the image of an old scholar during the flourishing of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism in later generations, Zhu Xi was not actually a corrupt scholar who talked about benevolence, righteousness, and morality, nor was he a moral teacher who listened to the strict separation of men and women every day.

Zhu Xi's political spectrum is even clearer. His four teachers, Liu Ziwu, Hu Xian, Liu Mianzhi, and Liu Zihui, were all genuine advocates of war. Growing up in such an environment, how could Zhu Xi not want to find a way to recover his homeland?

Although Xin Qiji did not know who Zhu Xi was, he knew Liu Ziwu's name and immediately showed great respect for Zhu Xi.

The reason is simple. After the Battle of Fuping during the Jianyan period, the Song Dynasty did not collapse in the northwest because it had Wu Jie in the military and Liu Ziwu in the literary field. The two of them stabilized the situation in Xingyuan Prefecture, which is Hanzhong, and drove the Jin army out again.

If the Jin army occupied Hanzhong and even conquered Shu, the Song Dynasty would immediately enter the countdown to its demise.

Of course, as a capable advocate of war, Liu Ziwu's ending was naturally not very good.

After Qin Hui came to power, Liu Ziwu was dismissed from office and died of depression in the 26th year of Shaoxing, which was 16 years ago.

When talking about his adoptive father at this time, Zhu Xi's tone was filled with uncontrollable pride and uncontrollable grief.

If Liu Ziwu were still alive, how could Zhang Jun have taken up the banner of the pro-war faction?
Xin Qiji's expression was solemn. He straightened his clothes and bowed, saying, "On behalf of the people of the north, I would like to thank Mr. Liu to Zhu Sanlang."

Zhu Xi immediately stepped forward, took Xin Qiji's arm with his big hand, and said with a laugh: "My father is open-minded by nature and will definitely not accept Xin Wulang's greeting. This is not the place to talk. Shall we go inside and discuss it in detail?" "Please come in, all three of you."

Zhao Mingzheng immediately took Xin Qiji and three others to the interior of the pleasure boat.

This pleasure boat city is made up of dozens of pleasure boats connected in parallel, as if this kind of gathering has not been held for the first time on the Qinhuai River. Therefore, the passages between the pleasure boats are neat and well-connected, and there are pavilions and towers everywhere. It really is like a city on the water.

Xin Qiji walked forward leisurely, watching the singing and dancing, the bright lights, the talented men and beautiful women reciting poems and composing couplets, and the wealthy businessmen spending money lavishly. It was a scene of prosperity and peace.

If Xin Qiji had seen this scene a few years ago, he would probably have been angry, confused, or even fallen into it. But now that he has fought in the north and south and has seen more dead people than living people, he naturally has become indifferent to these things.

When the five people arrived at the huge pleasure boat in the center, the atmosphere had reached its climax.

In such occasions, wine and music are just for fun, and what is really worth applauding are the words and phrases of literati and poets.

However, the poems written by the two people surrounded by the crowd were so vulgar that even Xin Qiji, who thought he was not good at writing lyrics, could tell how bad these poems were.

Even so, when the two of them recited a poem, it would still cause waves of applause.

It seems that these two people either have prominent family backgrounds or hold high positions of power.

In this environment, even though Zhao Mingzheng was the son of the head of the Jiankang Canal Transport Bureau, he had no say. He could only take Xin Qiji to a seat by the window, call his personal servant to serve him, and then apologize and leave to get busy.

Zhu Xi and Chen Liang originally wanted to chat with Xin Qiji for a while, but after he sat in the seat by the window, he stared blankly at the fireworks outside the window, lost in thought, so they tactfully left.

Both of them have their own small circles, so naturally they would not hold on to Xin Qiji.

Seeing that no one around seemed to be paying attention to him, Luo Huaiyan sat down on the side without waiting for Xin Qiji to call him, picked up the snacks and candied fruits on the table and started eating.

As the saying goes, a young boy can eat me to death. When Luo Huaiyan was still growing up, his appetite was like a glutton. He could finish all the food on the table in just a few moments.

Seeing this, Xin Qiji laughed, and then asked the servant of the Zhao family to bring some more food, preferably more meat.

Luo Huaiyan licked the icing on his fingers: "Fifth brother, what were you thinking about just now?"

Xin Qiji faced the old fellow without hiding anything. He pointed at the fireworks outside and said, "Do you see this scenery?"

Luo Huaiyan leaned against the window, admiring the fireworks for a while, then nodded: "It is indeed a rare sight in the north."

Xin Qiji shook his head, reflexively wanting to touch his sword hilt. Then, remembering he hadn't brought a sword with him today, he grabbed the jade pendant at his waist and began to stroke it. "I wasn't talking about that. I was thinking about military matters."

Luo Huaiyan's spirits lifted: "I'd like to hear the details."

"This idea came to me during the raid on Dongguan that day." Xin Qiji gestured on the table with his hands stained with wine. "At that time, I only had a few hundred elite cavalry, and they were a little tired after the long raid. The Jin thieves had a thousand men formed into the Six Flower Formation, waiting for us to tire out. It was very difficult for us to deal with.

Facing such a strong formation, one can only fight with one's life. However, General Yang Qin of the Dongting Lake Navy rushed over from Yuxi River and directly smashed the Jin bandits' formation with the eight-ox crossbow on board.

"Whether it's the Song or Jin armies, or our Shandong righteous army, their armor is getting thicker and thicker, their formations are getting neater, and breaking them is becoming more and more difficult. So I'm wondering if we can find a way to use a lighter crossbow to launch heavier objects."

Luo Huaiyan was also thinking.

To launch heavier crossbow bolts, the crossbow had to be made heavier. However, the Eight Ox Crossbow was already very heavy, making it impossible to move quickly with the army. Moreover, it had many parts and was very expensive. After a heavy rain, it might become unusable.

There is only one way to go.

Xin Qiji said this, pointing to the fireworks that were blooming: "I was wondering if we could use something like a rocket to launch the stone balls to smash the Jin army formation?"

Xin Qiji actually did not take a detour.

This was inevitable in the development of weapons. If it took more time, he would find that with the current state of rocket technology, no matter how it was modified, it would be impossible to hit the target accurately. In the end, he would use things like wooden tubes and bamboo tubes to regulate the launch route.

Once the propellant and gunpowder are separated, he will get the first generation of cannons.

Luo Huaiyan nodded, but before he could respond, he heard a conflict between several people in the field.

"Zhu Xi, you bastard, how dare you talk nonsense in front of me?!" One of the fat men who was just surrounded by people was obviously drunk at this time. His face was flushed and he pointed at Zhu Xi and cursed.

Another thin man in his forties, who was obviously calmer, tried to intervene, but the fat man waved him away: "Yang Er, you have nothing to do here. I want to hear what Master Zhu has to say."

Zhu Xi's insightful opinion was simple and clear. He simply picked up a stool and swung it at him.

(End of this chapter)