The daily life of the crown prince of the Song Dynasty

That night.

A man wearing a cloak and covering his face with a hat walked cautiously in the darkness.From time to time he stopped and looked around, as if afraid of being discovered.

Suddenly he walked into a dark alley.There was no light at all, not even moonlight.However, he walked very fast, as if he was not affected by the darkness at all, just like walking in a small alley during the day.

After making seven turns and eight turns, he came to the door of a very ordinary small courtyard.

Such small courtyards are very common in the west of Bianjing City, because ordinary people live here.

He knocked on the door long and short, and after a while an old woman opened the door.

When the old woman saw the face of the visitor, her sharp eyes suddenly became very kind and very ordinary, just like ordinary old women.

"Eldest nephew, you are back, come in quickly." The old woman kindly let the visitor into the small yard of her house.

"Thank you, aunt." The voice of the visitor was very familiar, "Auntie, are you feeling better?"

"It's better." The aunt smiled, "I'm just a little problem, and I really trouble you for asking you to come all the way to see me."

"Auntie, what are you talking about? You are sick, and I am a junior, so I naturally want to visit you."

The aunt took the man's arm, talked and smiled with him and walked into the room.

After entering the room, the faces of the visitor and the aunt changed instantly, and they were not as familiar as before.

There were other people in the room, and one of them was Cao Jue who had gone to the northern border to look for Di Qing.

"General Di, we meet again."

"Long time no see, Mr. Cao." It was none other than the newly appointed Privy Envoy Di Qing.

"General Di, this is my uncle."

Di Qing hurriedly bowed to Cao Ban: "I have met the Duke of Lu." The first Duke of Lu was Cao Bin, the grandfather of Empress Cao, and then the father of Empress Cao.But many years ago, Empress Cao's father died of illness, and Lu Guogong became Cao Ban.

Cao Ban stepped forward and helped Di Qing himself: "Get up quickly."

Di Qing stood up and said: "I have always admired the Duke, and now I am honored to see him." Di Qing was not flattering, but telling the truth.The Cao family has a very high status in the hearts of the generals, and many generals are very generals of the Cao family.Furthermore, Cao Ban is very famous even if he is not from the Cao family. When he was young, he repelled the soldiers of Xixia and Liao, and made a lot of contributions.

"General Di is polite." Cao Ban signaled Di Qing to sit down, "General Di is young and promising, brave and good at fighting, even the old man was not as good as him back then."

Di Qing was naturally apprehensive and apprehensive when he was praised so much: "I can't compare with the Duke when he was young."

Cao Ban smiled kindly, and then asked Di Qing about the situation along the way with concern, such as whether he was in danger or if anything happened.

Di Qing said that he didn't encounter any major dangers along the way, but he did encounter some thieves, but fortunately, there were no dangers in the end.

Next, there was another burst of booing and asking for warmth, and then we entered the topic.

"General Di, you entered the city early and contacted us secretly, do you have something important to say?"

"Guo Gong, there is indeed a very important matter, and it is not good for me to say it in a letter."

When Cao Ban heard this, his expression became serious instantly: "What is it?"

"My people sent me news that Xixia is likely to attack Song Dynasty at the end of this year."

Cao Ban and Cao Jue turned pale with shock: "Is the news true?"

"It's true." Di Qing said seriously, "My person is in the Xixia Palace, and the news she sent back is basically true."

When Cao Ban and Cao Jue heard this, their expressions immediately became serious.

"Why did Xixia attack Song Dynasty?" Xixia signed a peace treaty with Song Dynasty.Da Song gave Xixia [-] yuan every year, and Xixia could no longer attack Da Song.Over the years, although some Xixia soldiers often harassed the northern border, they had no real intention of attacking Song Dynasty.

"Since the beginning of this year, Li Hao has been ill. I thought it was a minor illness, and he will recover soon. Unexpectedly, he has not recovered for more than half a year. It is said that Li Hao is seriously ill, and he will not live well for a few years." Di Qing said, " His sons are all eyeing the throne and dissatisfied with the prince, especially the third prince, he has always hated the prince and wanted to get rid of the prince, and he was the one who proposed to attack Song Dynasty."

"Li Hao agreed?"

"Li Hao didn't agree, but he couldn't stop the third prince." Di Qing said in a deep voice, "The third prince holds military power and has always wanted to attack the Song Dynasty and prove that he is stronger than the prince. Now that Li Hao is ill, temporarily I can’t control him, just give him a chance.”

"How many troops does the Third Prince have?"

"12." Di Qing thought for a while and said, "Whether the third prince can successfully attack the Song Dynasty is still unknown, but we must take precautions."

Cao Ban nodded slightly: "You are right, you must be prepared."

"However, if Li Hao dies in these few months, then the third prince has no intention of attacking the Song Dynasty." Di Qing analyzed, "Compared to attacking the Song Dynasty, the third prince wants to get rid of the prince and sit on the throne of Xixia. "

"Can your people come in handy?" Cao Ban suddenly asked with deep meaning.

Di Qing understood Cao Ban's meaning, shook his head and said, "It's not useful."

When Cao Ban heard the words, there was a look of pity on his face.

"I will report this matter to His Royal Highness, and wait for His Royal Highness to deal with it."

"Do you want to report it to the officials?" Di Qing asked.

"If you tell the officials, your source of information will be questioned. Even if the officials believe you, the ministers of the Manchu Dynasty will not believe you, and will say that you are alarmist. Then you will be attacked by the ministers." Cao Ban Raising the corner of his mouth, he smiled meaningfully, "Those ministers are dissatisfied with you as a privy envoy. Before you arrived in Bianjing, they tried their best to find your fault. If you tell the news to the officials, it will happen to you. This gave the ministers a reason to suppress you."

After hearing what Cao Ban said, Di Qing couldn't help showing a look of horror in his eyes. He didn't expect the civil servants to hate him so much.

"Just tell His Royal Highness, is it okay?"

"It's okay, His Royal Highness will tell the officials." Cao Ban said gently, "Besides, His Royal Highness will handle this matter well."

Hearing what Cao Ban said so firmly, Di Qing was relieved.

"Then please pass it on to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"Tonight, I will inform His Royal Highness about this matter." After Cao Ban finished speaking, he asked, "General Di, where do you want to live these two days?"

"The guest house."

"Inappropriate." Cao Ban said, "You secretly entered the city early, if the ministers find out about this, they will definitely impeach you."

"Then I'll go back secretly." Di Qing sneaked into Bianjing City alone, while the large army following him was outside the city.According to the itinerary, he should arrive in Bianjing City in two days.

After receiving the news, Di Qing suddenly decided to enter the city quietly.

"At this time, the city gate is closed, you can't get out." Cao Ban thought for a while and said, "You will live here for these two days."

"convenient?"

"Naturally, it's convenient, and the ministers won't notice it here." Cao Ban said again, "The owners of this yard are our Cao family. It's safe and hidden for you to live here."

Cao Jue said: "General Di, you should rest here for the next two days, and when your entourage arrives, you can meet them again."

Di Qing stood up and bowed to Cao Ban: "That's troublesome."

"General Di is polite."

Next, Di Qing told Cao Ban and the others about Xixia.

It was getting late, so Cao Ban went back first.He left Cao Jue and asked him to accompany Di Qing.

Di Qing came to Bianjing City for the first time, and he was not familiar with the place.Furthermore, he sneaked into the city ahead of time, if he was left here alone, he might feel uneasy.If Cao Jue stayed with him, he would feel safer.

After Cao Ban returned to Cao's house, he immediately sent a letter to the East Palace with a pigeon.

The pigeons are specially bred by the Imperial City Division, and they are not white pigeons, but gray pigeons. It is difficult for ordinary people to notice them.

As soon as the gray pigeon flew to the East Palace, it was stopped by the sea.Then, Dahai took the gray pigeon to find Zhao Yang.

When Zhao Yang saw that it was a gray pigeon, he waved to it.Immediately, it flew obediently to Zhao Yang's arm.

Taking the letter from the gray pigeon, Zhao Yang let the gray pigeon go back.

Seeing that Zhao Yang saw the letter, Cao Xu's expression became very serious in an instant, his heart sank, and he hurriedly asked, "Your Highness, what happened?"

"Di Qing sneaked into the city and brought bad news."

Cao Xu reacted quickly: "Is it about Xixia?"

"That's right, Di Qing's people sent back news that the third prince of Xixia is likely to go south to attack Song Dynasty."

"what?"

After Zhao Yang read the letter, he took it to the candle and burned it.Afterwards, he wrote a reply letter and tied it to Dahai's leg.

He patted the sea lightly on the head, and told it: "Give the letter to uncle."

Dahai nodded, then flapped his wings and flew away.

"Your Highness, what are you going to do?"

"I don't know the specifics of the situation. We'll talk about it when we see Di Qing tomorrow night."

"Your Highness, do you want to see Di Qing?"

Zhao Yang nodded lightly: "Now he has entered the city ahead of schedule, take this opportunity to meet him." He has always wanted to see Di Qing. "We'll go see Di Qing tomorrow night."

After a while, Cao Ban received a letter from Dahai.

Seeing that His Royal Highness wants to see Di Qing tomorrow night, he will naturally arrange it.

The next day, Zhao Yang went out of the palace and went to the Sun Academy.

From time to time, he would go to Sun Academy to teach children how to read and write.Ministers know it.

This teaching, of course, is a whole day.

Zhao Yang didn't go back to the palace, but went directly to Cao's house.

After dinner at Cao's house, at the end of the Xu Dynasty, he followed Cao Ban to see Di Qing in a sneaky way.

When Di Qing saw a ten-year-old child brought by Cao Ban, he was stunned for a moment, then guessed the child's identity, his eyes widened in shock, and then hurriedly saluted: "Chen Di Qing sees His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Seeing that Di Qing guessed his identity, Zhao Yang was a little surprised. After all, he didn't tell him in advance that he came to see him tonight.

He stepped forward and reached out to support Di Qing.

"General Di, please come up." Although Di Qing was named a privy envoy, Zhao Yang and the others still called him a general, the intention of which was obvious.

"Thank you, Your Royal Highness." Di Qing was still very surprised. He didn't expect His Royal Highness to come to see him in person, which flattered him.Of course, what surprised him the most was that His Royal Highness's appearance was really outstanding.However, although His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is young, he is majestic, making people dare not underestimate him.

Zhao Yang did it on purpose.When he met Di Qing for the first time, of course he couldn't laugh and laugh, he had to give him a very majestic impression, so that he could be convinced.Furthermore, as the crown prince, he must have royal majesty.

"I've always wanted to meet General Di, and now I finally do." Zhao Yang asked with concern, "Is the journey all right?"

"Thank you, His Royal Highness, for your concern. I'm safe and sound this journey."

Di Qing looks upright, with an upright air, and a chilly air.

Zhao Yang didn't talk to Di Qing, and went directly to the topic to ask about Xixia.

Di Qing reported everything about Xixia to Zhao Yang.

After Zhao Yang heard this, he tapped the table with the fingers of his right hand.

This is what he does when he thinks.

Cao Ban and Di Qing did not speak, they waited quietly for Zhao Yang to speak.

After a while, Zhao Yang put away his fingers, crossed his hands on the table and said, "In this case, let the third prince and the prince fight."

Cao Ban asked: "Your Highness, how do you plan to make him fight?"

"Secretly tell the third prince that Li Hao doesn't have much time to live." Zhao Yang narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "Then let the prince of Xixia know that the third prince is going to kill him."

"Your Highness, the Third Prince of Xixia and the Crown Prince are suspicious people, I'm afraid it's hard to believe."

"Then let them believe it." Zhao Yang said with a smile, "I will send someone to do this well, so that the third prince has no time to go south to attack Song Dynasty."

Seeing that Zhao Yang was so confident, Di Qing didn't say anything more.

Zhao Yang smiled at Di Qing and said, "There are people of mine in Xixia."

Di Qing understood instantly, and she didn't feel worried at all.

"Your Highness is wise."

"After talking about Xixia, General Di, let's talk about yours."

Di Qing's heart tightened, and he quickly said obediently: "Please tell me, Your Highness."