Meishan Su family, Su Yun is the most virtuous

Chapter 430: The Zhe family also has a way to get over the wall!
After the scouts left, Zhong Shidao found a confidant of the Zhong family and whispered some instructions to him. After that, rumors of Zhe Keshi colluding with the enemy began to spread among the three thousand elite cavalry.

And somehow, this news began to spread in the counties and prefectures near Tongguan, so that when Zhe Keshi received the notification from Zhe's family, he was greatly surprised.

Zhe Keshi thought it was a counter-espionage plot by Su Yunyong, but after asking someone to investigate, he found out that the source of the news actually came from the Zhong family army. This time Zhe Keshi was really shocked.

To be honest, these generals fighting on the front lines are sometimes not afraid of how strong their opponents are, but they are really afraid of being backstabbed by their teammates. This kind of backstabbing includes exposing their flanks to the enemy, not helping others in danger, and even more vicious things, directly slandering themselves as surrendering to the enemy!
After all, there might be a chance of survival if his flank was exposed and he did not help the enemy, but if he was convicted of treason and was sentenced to death, then judging from the usual behavior of those big masters in the court, his life would be completely ruined!
Even if you don’t die, you will suffer for the rest of your life!

Zhe Keshi was both shocked and angry this time.

Zhe Keshi was shocked that Zhong Zhen would resort to such vicious means. The two generals belonged to the same Northwest Army. Although they had conflicts in the past, they had also fought side by side. At this time of emergency and external enemies, the Zhong family not only did not unite to fight the enemy, but instead turned their spearheads against their own generals. Such behavior was tantamount to destroying the Great Wall!

Moreover, the Zhong family has deep roots in the military. Now that the news has spread from the Zhong family’s army, the already suspicious civil servant group in the court is very likely to believe the rumors.

If he fails to prove his innocence in time, he will be doomed in an instant. All the efforts he has made in fighting for the Song Dynasty over the years will be wasted, and even the entire Zhe family will be implicated.

This is an act that disregards the overall situation and disregards the safety of the country for personal gain or ulterior motives!
Faced with a powerful enemy, we should have worked together to resist the foreign aggressor, but the Zhong family stabbed us in the back. This kind of internal strife is really despicable.

What made him even more furious was that he had always been loyal to his duties, risking his life to protect the border, but now he was being slandered without reason and his reputation was damaged. All he got in return for his passion was being framed by his colleagues. How could he not hate them?

Zhe Keshi was able to keep his composure. Although his face was filled with anger when he heard the news, he was still able to calm down and think about the problem. However, Zhe Kexing jumped up all of a sudden, like a lit firecracker.

"Brother!"

When Zhe Kexing jumped up, the sword on his waist hit the table with a clear sound. His eyes were red like a trapped beast, and he overturned the sand table on the table: "Fight with them! I will lead 500 soldiers to charge into the Zhong family army and twist off the head of the source of the rumor!"

The broken wood chips from the sand table splashed on the edge of Zhe Keshi's boots, but it seemed to hit Zhe Kexing's heart. He suddenly drew out his sword, and the blade glowed coldly under the candlelight.

"The Zhong family is too bullying. Do they think our Zhe family is a soft persimmon that can be bullied by anyone?"

Zhe Keshi grabbed his brother's wrist that was holding the sword, and the force from the base of his palm almost shook his hand away.

"Nonsense!"

He lowered his voice, veins throbbing on his forehead, "If we act rashly now, it will play into their hands! Do you want everyone in your family to be charged with treason?"

Seeing his brother still struggling, Zhe Keshi suddenly dragged him to the door of the military tent and pointed at the flickering lights in the military camp in the distance: "Look, what do the lines formed by those torches look like? They are noose!
The more we struggle, the more reason they have to say we are guilty!"

Zhe Xingke's shoulders gradually slumped and his sword fell to the ground with a clang.

"So what do you say, brother?"

His voice was muffled, and he kicked away the broken sand tray at his feet, "We can't just wait for the imperial envoy to come and arrest him!"

Zhe Keshi stared at the mottled shadows of the trees on the window frame, and suddenly remembered his father holding his hand before his death and saying: "Zhe family sons would rather die on the battlefield than let their backs be bent."

He turned around and took out the tiger talisman bestowed by the late emperor from the sandalwood box, and said in a deep voice: "Send someone to invite General Yao Pingzhong immediately and tell him that there is urgent military information to discuss.

Then let my third brother rush back to the mansion overnight, pack all the military merit books and war reports from these years into boxes, and send them to the students of the Imperial Censorate."

He paused, and pressed the tiger talisman heavily on his brother's palm: "Remember, we don't want a private fight, we want to let everyone in the world see that the bones of the Zhe family are hard!"

Upon hearing this, Zhe Kexing threw his sword to the ground angrily, making a crisp clanging sound, and then said in a muffled voice: "Okay, then let us just let ourselves be slaughtered! I'll go right away!"

Zhe Kexing turned around and was about to leave, but he found that Zhe Keshi was still holding his arm tightly. He was a little surprised and asked, "Brother?"

But Zhe Keshi said: "Don't worry, there is another thing that needs you to do."

Zhe Kexing asked blankly: "What's the matter?"

Zhe Keshi said with a sullen face, "You have to show your loyalty, but you also have to have a way out. After you tell my third brother that all the contributions of the Zhe family over the years have been reported to the court, you still have to do one thing, which is to secretly send someone to contact Su Yun. You should know where Su Yun's people are, right?"

Zhe Kexing nodded in surprise and said, "I know, but why are we looking for them? Do they want us to come out in full force, defeat them first, make a great contribution, and show our loyalty to the court?"

Zhe Keshi laughed when he heard this and said, "The Jingsai army is strong and powerful, how can we defeat them? Even if we can defeat them, can we clear our suspicion by making a great contribution?"

Zhe Kexing widened his eyes and asked, "What does brother mean?"

Zhe Keshi let out a long sigh and said, "If the unspeakable time comes, our Zhe family will not be at the mercy of others. Su Yun can rule a region in the northwest. Could it be that after a hundred years, our Zhe family is still not as good as Su Yun?"

Zhe Kexing was very surprised when he heard this, and said, "Brother, are you going to follow the example of the Five Dynasties warlords and establish independence in the northwest?"

Zhe Keshi nodded, with a hint of excitement on his face, and said: "Brother, I have seen that the Song Dynasty is already facing its end.

Since Emperor Zhenzong, the Song Dynasty had been on a downward trend. During the reign of Emperor Renzong, the Song Dynasty had been repeatedly troubled by redundant officials, redundant soldiers and redundant expenses. Emperor Renzong tried the Qingli Reform and the Jiayou Reform, but none of them succeeded.

After that, Emperor Yingzong was a short-lived man. Apart from exhausting the last bit of vitality of the court, he made no other contribution.

As for the former emperor, Shenzong, everyone said he was wise and brave. But he carried out the Xining Reforms, which made the whole country miserable and the people complained. So what did he change?
Oh, it's not that there were no changes. Rather, factional strife became a chronic disease of the Song Dynasty, and even forced a capable minister like Su Yun to become a traitor.

Haha, now that Empress Dowager Gao has been forced to step down, it's the time when the ruler and his ministers are in doubt, Western Xia and Khitan are eyeing us covetously, Su Yun is about to take over the northwest, and so-called generals like Zhong Zhen are stabbing loyal families like ours in the back for the benefit of their own families!

Humph, it would be strange if such a court did not perish!"

Zhe Kexing's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he quickly said, "If that's the case, can our Zhe family take this opportunity to expand our territory and become one of the kings of the northwest?" Zhe Keshi shook his head and said, "I don't know how it will develop next, but you must remember that our Zhe family is not the Zhao family's dog.

Back then, our Zhe family joined the Zhao Song Dynasty in order to deal with the Dangxiang Li family together. Later, Zhao Kuangyin was indeed capable of conquering the world, and only then did our Zhe family settle down in the northwest.

But this does not mean that our Zhe family can be bullied. If the Zhao family is willing to cooperate with us for development, then we can serve the Song Dynasty. But in this situation, we can no longer be loyal ministers and filial sons.

Since troubled times are coming, we in the Zhe clan should also think about ourselves. If the time comes when we can no longer bear to speak, we in the Zhe clan will also rise up to resist. "

Zhe Kexing quickly said: "Then when I find Su Yun, what should I say to him?"

Zhe Keshi narrowed his eyes and said, "You should first find Zhe Kexian, tell him about the current situation, and then ask him: Our Zhe family is at the critical moment of life and death, what should we do at this moment!"

Zhe Kexing frowned and said, "If that's the case, then Zhe Kexing must have persuaded us to vote for Su Yun."

Zhe Keshi shook his head and said, “Although Zhe may have voted for Su Yun, this is related to the survival of the Zhe family. He will not let us vote for Su Yun so easily. He will definitely make plans for the Zhe family.

But you don't have to worry about these, just tell him about it, and then you can see what he says later, write it down, and come back to tell me."

Zhe Kexing was a little confused and said, "Brother, I don't quite understand your roundabout way of speaking."

Zhe Keshi laughed when he heard this, "I usually told you to read more books but you didn't. Now you can't even understand what I say. Isn't this like regretting not having enough books when you need them?"

Zhe Kexing stamped his feet and said, "Brother, please stop talking nonsense. Tell me quickly. I will know. Only then can I avoid doing wrong things and know when to stop!"

Zhe Keshi nodded and said, "I should tell you. The reason why I asked you to say it is not to tell Possible, but to tell Su Yun through Possible that we can fight for it.

This can reduce the chance of being attacked by Su Yun. If the situation really becomes a last resort, we can also surrender to Su Yun, but before that, we can advance and retreat freely.

If the court is willing to trust us, we can still be loyal ministers and filial sons of the Song Dynasty, but if the officials in the court do not understand the greater good, then don't blame us."

Zhe Kexing was dumbfounded when he heard this, and said with emotion: "It seems that I am really not suitable for playing politics. I am only suitable to be a general who charges into battle. People who play politics have dirty hearts!"

Zhe Keshi laughed and scolded him when he heard this: "What you said is really inappropriate. If it weren't for the family, how could I be so popular?"

Zhe Kexing quickly waved his hand and said, "Brother, that's not what I meant. I meant that you are resourceful."

Zhe Keshi shook his head and said, "I know. In fact, I don't want this to happen either, but the world is like this, and people's hearts are evil. If I don't work for our Zhe family, then our Zhe family will not be able to continue.

In the past, every generation of the Zhe family leader had planned for the family in this way. Alas, now is a major change in the past century. I don’t know how it will develop next. I can only try to arrange more ways out for the family. "

Zhe Kexing was also worried after hearing this. He thought for a while and said, "Brother, do you think Wen Yanbo and that old dog Zhongzhen can defend Chang'an City?"

Zhe Keshi shook his head and said, "I don't know. Logically speaking, the power of the Song Dynasty is very great, and Chang'an City is also a powerful city in the world. It would be extremely difficult for the Jingsai Army to capture Chang'an.

But the strength of the Jingsai Army is something I have never seen before. Even the powerful Dangxiang people could not defeat the Jingsai Army. The Song Dynasty’s imperial army could not even defeat the Xixia people, so how could it compete with the Jingsai Army?

Moreover, the Jingsai Army has almost cut off all the food routes to Chang'an City. If the Song Dynasty court does not invest more forces in the northwest, then it is expected that the Jingsai Army will take Chang'an. "

Zhe Kexing's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he said, "Brother, I have something else I want to ask you. If Su Yun takes Chang'an, what does that mean?"

Zhe Keshi reached out and stroked the damaged map on the table, his fingertips pressed heavily on the location of Chang'an, the candlelight reflected a faint light in his eyes: "If Chang'an is lost, the world will change.

Since Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty established Chang'an as the capital, Guanzhong has been the place where the dragon rises. Whoever loses Chang'an loses the world. This is not an empty statement. "

He suddenly pulled the map apart, revealing the covered Luoyang and Bianliang. "You see, once Chang'an is breached, the natural barrier of Tongguan will be useless, and Su Yun's cavalry of the Jingsai Army will be able to attack the Central Plains along the ancient Xiaohan Road.

By then, the defense of Bianliang City would be as weak as paper, and the officials in the court would probably not even have the courage to pay tribute to Xixia."

He turned around abruptly and threw the teacup on the table to the ground. "What's more fatal is the people's hearts! Chang'an is the backbone of the Song army in the northwest. Once it falls, those prefectures with unstable military morale will probably surrender.

The food, fodder and military equipment stored by Wen Yanbo and his men in Chang'an quickly became Su Yun's supplies.

By then, Xixia and Khitan will certainly take the opportunity to move south, and the Song Dynasty will be like a piece of rotten meat surrounded by wolves, and everyone will want to take a bite."

Zhe Keshi grabbed the cinnabar pen on the table and drew a circle on the map: "If Su Yun occupies Chang'an, he can follow the example of Li Tang and control the world with Guanzhong.

Repair the plank road and fortify the Hangu Pass, so that we can advance to the east to fight for the world, and retreat to defend the mountains and rivers.

In addition, he has elite troops like the Jingsai Army under his command, and he is good at using capable ministers. Within three years, he will be able to achieve success.

By then, if the Song Dynasty is still in internal strife, we, the Northwest Army, will be nothing more than fish on the chopping board."

Zhe Kexing's forehead was covered with cold sweat, and he murmured, "Then...then our Zhe family is in danger, isn't it?"

Zhe Keshi sneered and threw the cinnabar pen heavily: "That's why we have to make plans early!
If Chang'an is lost, there will be no peace in the world anymore.

But there are opportunities in crises. It depends on how we can carve out a way out for the Zhe family in this chaotic world!"

Zhe Kexing took a deep breath, nodded and said: "Brother, after hearing what you said, I understand your intentions. Don't worry, I will do my best to do what you said and carve out a way out for our Zhe family!"

(End of this chapter)