One Piece of Song Dynasty

Although Zongze's idea of ​​asking Zhao Gou to return to Luan Tokyo to preside over the war of resistance was unrealistic, Zongze's death still made Zhao Gou feel sad. He posthumously awarded Zongze the title of Bachelor of Guanwen Palace, with the posthumous title of Zhongjian, and wrote his own eulogy, with the main idea as follows: "When the mountains and rivers changed suddenly, in the prime of his life, he became angry and joined the army, and finally became the pillar of the country. , and it collapsed."

After Zongze's death, chaos arose in Kaifeng: his eldest son wanted his son to inherit his father's legacy, and various rebel armies were also ready to move. All parties wanted to become the princes of Kaifeng, which Zhao Gou and the Southern Song Dynasty would never tolerate. In order to effectively control the rebels under Zongze, Zhao Gou accepted the advice of the courtiers and sent a ruthless man to Bianjing to take over. This ruthless man was Du Chong, the former defender of Daming Prefecture in Beijing.

Although Du Chong was a civil servant, he had a ferocious appearance and was headstrong and harsh. He was known for his cruelty when he served in Cangzhou and Daming Prefecture before, especially his generals, who all feared him like a tiger. However, the arrival of Du Chong caused great trouble to the Southern Song Dynasty soon after.

There are three things a new official should do when he takes office. As soon as Du Chong arrived in Kaifeng, he immediately started to do two things.

First, when Du Chong saw that the rebel armies were letting themselves go and becoming powerful, he ordered all ministries to mobilize for defense. Zhang Yong and Cao Cheng's troops were stationed in the Imperial Garden in the south of the city, Wang Shan's troops were stationed in Liujia Temple in the east of the city, and Chen Cui, Liu Jing, Yue Fei and other Tokyo left-behind officers were stationed in the west of the city. Wang Shan, Zhang Yong, and Cao Cheng believed that this was a deliberate attempt to separate their brothers. Although they were very dissatisfied, they had no choice but to lose heart.

The second thing is that before Zongze's death, he had formulated a battle plan to attack Zhending and Zhongshan in Hebei. As soon as Du Chong took office, he made a big splash, saying that the Song army was about to attack Zhending and Zhongshan in a large scale, which made the Jin Kingdom very nervous for a while.

Li Qingzhao settled down in Jiangning and had nothing to do. He occasionally went to dinner parties with Zhao Mingcheng. But she was still a heroic and strange woman. She always missed her hometown in the north, and always thought she was dreaming about the chaos in the world. Therefore, during the six months since she came to Nanjing, she was often in a trance, and she never wrote a single poem.

At the banquet just now, Li Qingzhao actually composed his first poem since his journey to the south. Unexpectedly, it caused people to whisper. On the way back home, Zhao Mingcheng recited two of the sentences repeatedly in the sedan chair, "Don't laugh when you are drunk and arranging flowers. Poor spring is like a person getting old." He thought that Li Qingzhao's style of poetry had changed drastically. Li Qingzhao replied: "How can the style of poetry remain unchanged if the poetic context is different?"

"That's too heavy and sad." Zhao Mingcheng said, "I still remember that New Year's Eve, you decorated the branches with winter plums, your fragrant face was half-opened, and the scene of the happy gathering in the past seems to be vivid in my mind."

Li Qingzhao said: "It is no longer possible to be delicate and beautiful. I was only twenty at that time, and now I am half a woman. The chaos in Nandu separated the flesh and blood of countless families, making them worse than insects and ants. It is really horrifying. It is unbearable to look back and remember the past again." It’s too painful to remember.”

"Fortunately, it's all over. Don't be in a daze all the time. Aren't you and I still together?" Zhao Mingcheng comforted her. Unexpectedly, Li Qingzhao retorted excitedly: "Whether you are confused or stupid is over. I'm afraid the misfortune is just the beginning."

"Madam has drunk too much. No, no, she is too sensitive." Zhao Mingcheng was very frightened by her reaction and hid in the study when he got home. Li Qingzhao secretly reflected that although he had overreacted, Mingcheng, how should I put it, was really kind. Just as I was thinking of this, Xing'er came in and said that a young master named Xie was visiting.

Among the relatives, the only one with the surname Xie is the Xie Ke family. The Xie Ke family were ministers of the DPRK and masters of poetry. They were also listed as traitors by Li Gang last year. Fortunately, Li Gang left the DPRK soon, and the Xie Ke family and others were rehabilitated by Zhao Gou and restored to their original posts.

Zhao Mingcheng heard that his nephew was coming and asked him to come in. Mr. Xie came with a painting scroll. He met his cousin and aunt, told him that his father had arrived in the south of the Yangtze River, and also talked about the situation in the north of the Yangtze River. Zhao Mingcheng stared closely at the scroll in his hand and said impatiently: "If you don't talk about this, what are you holding?"

"Please ask my cousin to see if it is the original work of Yan Liben," Mr. Xie said, opening the scroll. Zhao Mingcheng is obsessed with ancient things. When he saw the painting, his face turned red immediately, his eyes were fixed, and he wished he could throw himself into the painting.

Li Qingzhao saw that the painting was Xiao Yi's painting of Lanting, and asked where he got it. Mr. Xie said that on the way to Nandu, my father saved the life of a neighbor from Shangcai's hometown, and he took this painting to thank him, but he doesn't know whether it is true or not. Li Qingzhao said: "This painting tells the story of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty who ordered Xiao Yi, the censor, to travel thousands of miles to Kuaiji to defraud Monk Biancai Lanting's authentic preface. Look at Xiao Yi's pride after he succeeded, and Monk Biancai's expression of regret. It's lifelike and vivid on the paper. Also, this blade shouldn't be a fake."

"I don't want to live in troubled times, but I can still see the authentic works of Yan Liben. I can die in peace." Zhao Mingcheng couldn't put it down and sighed repeatedly. Seeing that Mr. Xie was overjoyed, he rolled up the scroll to leave, and hurriedly grabbed the painting without letting go: "Good nephew, Leave the painting for now and let me observe it for a few days."

"Your cousin is a useless person. In this troubled world, he wishes he could turn into an ostrich and burrow into the sand. Just lend him a toy and let him play with it for a few days." Seeing Mr. Xie's hesitation, Li Qingzhao helped Zhao Mingcheng speak. . Mr. Xie stood up and said goodbye. Before leaving, he specifically stated that the painting would be left with his cousin for the time being and that he would come back to pick it up in a few days.

Zhao Mingcheng felt as if he had found a treasure, and walked into the study with the painting in his hands, without even giving away the guest. Seeing this, Li Qingzhao sent Mr. Xie out, shaking his head in shame and saying: "When Qu Yuan was in exile, he was still worried about the country and the people. In these troubled times, my husband-in-law can't worry about the country, but he is still so content and happy."

"Madam, you shouldn't say that about the master, he is a good man." Xing'er sent the guests away and complained for Zhao Mingcheng. Li Qingzhao was most impatient with mediocrity and said irritably: "Good people can be indifferent to everything. It's really a good person and a good person who uses pen and ink."

Myolie was busy arranging paper and pen, and Li Qingzhao was so worried and angry that he wrote quickly, and a poem was written in an instant. Within a few days, this poem spread all over the country, crossing the river and reaching Yangzhou.

Yangzhou is in hot weather in July. Temporary shacks for refugees are set up everywhere on the streets. The stench is unpleasant and mosquitoes and flies are everywhere. In front of a glutinous rice dumpling stall, three or two scholars were holding poems and discussing. I saw these few scholars talking about it: "I am still timid when I come from the south and the Wujiang River is cold, but I should be sad when I hunt in the north. I have a well-dressed man who guides me to the south, but I owe Liu Kun the news when I come from the north. It is really hit the nail on the head, and even the women can't wait to let the men down." Looking forward to seeing Mrs. Li’s next masterpiece.”

After a month, Mr. Xie came to ask for a painting. Zhao Mingcheng was admiring Xiao Yi's painting of Orchid Pavilion. When he heard Xing'er coming to report, he hurriedly picked up the painting and hid in the inner room, pushing Li Qingzhao out to deal with it. Li Qingzhao was greatly surprised and stretched out his hand to grab the painting: "Mingcheng, what's wrong with you? This painting obviously belongs to your cousin. He sent his son to ask for it again and again. How could you refuse to give it?" lv