The famous book tour starting from the Red House

Chapter 510 Make a Bet
"Your Excellency is absurd, I don't dare to be an official...Ah!"

However, before Ma Zhi finished speaking, he was hit on the forehead by a teacup that flew over suddenly, and immediately sat down on the ground, screaming in pain.

"Master Mu, what is the meaning of this?" Mu Xu suddenly became violent this time, not to mention that Ma Zhi didn't respond, even Ma Kuo who was at the side was startled, and after recovering, he quickly questioned.

But Mu Xu ignored Ma Kuo, pointing at Ma Zhi on the ground and yelling, "Shameless bastard, I really praise you! For your own selfishness, you blacked out your heart, and chose to let a country and a nation To be buried with you, a villain like you deserves to talk about national righteousness in front of me, I'm sorry!"

Ma Zhi, who was so frightened and panicked, naturally would not admit what Mu Xu said, and immediately argued, "Master Mu...my lord, you can't...you can't spit blood! This official is dedicated to...for the public, absolutely...absolutely, absolutely nothing. Selfish!"

"Hmph, quickly put away your face, what kind of people you and Li Chuwen are, don't you know if you are really an official?"

Mu Xu looked at Ma Zhi with disdain on his face, and after a sneer at him, he turned his head and asked Ma Kuo, "Master Ma, answer me truthfully, do you think the imperial court should form an alliance with the Jin people?"

Ma Kuo glanced at Ma Zhi, hesitated for a while, and finally replied, "The lower officials think that we should not form an alliance with the Jin people. Instead, we should vigorously support the remnants of the Liao people so that the two sides can continue to be at loggerheads. The Song Dynasty can sit on the mountain and watch." Hudou, this is the best choice!"

Mu patted his thigh with his hand, and praised, "Show, this is an old-fashioned way to seek the country! But anyone with a little knowledge should understand the truth.

If the Liao Kingdom is a hungry wolf, then the Jin Kingdom is a fierce tiger.When facing these two ferocious beasts, the best strategy is to let them fight against each other, how can there be a way to join forces with the ferocious tigers to plot against the hungry wolves? "

Speaking of this, he pointed to Ma Zhi and continued, "Master Ma is in the Central Plains, so he may not be aware of the brutality of the Jin people. But Li Chuwen and Ma Zhi are not. Understand clearly.

The two thieves knew that cooperating with the Jin people was an act of seeking skin from a tiger, but out of selfishness, they encouraged the officials to cooperate with the Jin people, completely disregarding that the Song Dynasty would be bitten by the Jin State in the future.You said, should this kind of person be killed? "

Hearing Mu Xu's words, Ma Zhi understood at this moment that if he couldn't explain why today, he would be doomed by Mu Xu's attitude towards him, so he struggled to get up from the ground and retorted,

"If you want to commit a crime, there is nothing wrong with it. How does Lord Mu know that the Jin people will not keep their promises and invade the Song Dynasty in the future?"

Mu Xu sneered, and revealed his purpose casually, "You are quite quick-witted, and you are trying to get a dog's life with this argument. That's okay, I will satisfy your wish and let you live a good life , when the Jin people enter Kouyan's land in another day, I will cut you into pieces, and I forgive you, you will have nothing to say at that time!"

"Come here, take Ma Zhi and me down, take good care of him, and don't let him die!"

As Mu Xu's words fell, Wang Dingliu appeared outside the door with two personal guards, and then dragged Ma Zhi out without saying a word.

Until he was dragged outside the door, thinking of the situation he was about to face, Ma Zhi suddenly flew out of his mind, and shouted hoarsely,
"Lord Mu, I am the deputy envoy of the official family, Jin, you can't treat me like this! Lord Ma, please intercede with me!"

Hearing Ma Zhi's stern cry from far away, Ma Kuo finally spoke, "My lord, in my opinion, it is best to hand over Ma Zhi to the court, and let the officials deal with it. What does your action have to do with lynching?" easy?"

"Zichong, you are a rare sensible person in the court, why are you talking nonsense? If I put Ma Zhi back, with the temperament of our official, instead of punishing him, we will find him My trouble. Since this is the case, how can I do such an unwise thing?"

"Then how do you want to deal with Ma?"

"My official hopes that such a talent as Zi Chong can be loyal to me."

Ma Kuo shook his head and said, "A loyal minister does not serve the second master, please forgive me for not agreeing."

"Could it be that this imperial court is really worth nostalgia for? Don't you hear that a good bird chooses a tree to live in, and a good minister chooses a master to serve?"

"My lord, don't try to persuade me again. You should be loyal to the emperor when you are an official. Although the official family is not a wise emperor, it has not committed any major faults. It is my lord that you have received the grace of the country, and the official family even married off their beloved daughter. , but have such a rebellious heart, I'm afraid it's not the actions of a man?"

In fact, Mu Xu had already guessed that a loyal minister like Ma Kuo who could go down in history would not change his mind easily, but he still couldn't help but want to recruit him.

Seeing that he really couldn't persuade him to change his family at this moment, he couldn't help sighing, "Those who know my heart say that I am worried, and those who don't know me say what I want! Since Mr. Ma is so stubborn, I will not make things difficult for you anymore, but I The officer wants to make a bet with you, how about you?"

"My lord, please explain what the bet is, before the next official can decide whether to agree."

"Let's take the situation in the world as a bet, how about betting on whether the Jin Dynasty will go south to invade the Song Dynasty?"

Mu Xu thought well, but Ma Kuo didn't fall for it, and just heard him say, "Your Excellency has analyzed the Kingdom of Jin so thoroughly just now, no matter how stupid you are, you know how to choose, so let's just let it go." it is good!"

"It's just that I'm in a cocoon!" Mu Xu shook his head and laughed, but it was impossible for him to give up like this, so he changed his mind and changed his words.

"Then let's change the bet, and bet on how Da Song will perform when the Kingdom of Jin invades?"

"What's the specific statement?"

Mu Xu answered the wrong question, "That depends on what Lord Ma thinks. How long do you think Da Song can resist the Jin Kingdom's invasion?"

Ma Kuo thought about it in his mind, and replied, "Jin Guoqiang is strong, but the Song Dynasty is not without power to fight back, and it can also take advantage of the strength of Yanshan Mountain, so the lower officials think that as long as the imperial court manages it properly, it can block a A year and a half should not be a problem."

Hearing Ma Kuo's answer, Mu Xu laughed immediately, "My opinion is just the opposite. I think the Great Song Dynasty will collapse in one blow, and will soon lose the land of Hebei. If there is no restraint from this official, I am afraid that Jin People will drink horses in the Yellow River in a blink of an eye, threatening the capital of the Song Dynasty."

Ma Kuo was startled, and hurriedly asked, "What proof do you have, sir?"

"This is not enough for outsiders! Master Ma just needs to tell me, do you dare to bet?"

Even though he knew that Mu Xu was just an aggressive method, Ma Kuo didn't want to believe that Da Song would be so vulnerable, so he hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, I'm going to make a bet. Dare I ask what the bet is?" ?”

Seeing that Ma Kuo finally got into the trap, Mu Xu was overjoyed and hurriedly said, "The bet is easy to say. If everything goes as I expected, then Mr. Ma must serve me. Otherwise, this officer can agree to Mr. Ma on one condition." ,how?"

"Okay, then it's a deal. If you win, my lord, please swear that you will never betray Da Song in your lifetime!" Ma Kuo thought for a while, and said righteously.

"Yes, I agree!"

Then, the two of them clapped their hands together as an oath, and Mu Xu said again, "Before that, please Mr. Ma stay in Yunzhou for a few days, and wait and see the changes in the world."

Of course, Ma Kuo knew that Mu Xu would not let him go safely before the matter became clear, so he accepted the proposal calmly, and then went to the new residence with the guards arranged by Mu Xu.

After Ma Kuo was settled, Mu Xu was in a good mood at the moment, so he decided to go to the back house to find a few wives to be happy. He didn't want to just walk to the porch of the back house, but he heard hurried footsteps behind him, so he had to stop and look back. , but saw that Wang Dingliu was trotting from the front yard.

"What happened that made you so anxious?"

Wang Dingliu panted heavily and replied, "Master, the secret letter from Officer Chai has arrived."

As he spoke, he took out a letter from his pocket and presented it to Mu Xu with both hands.

Mu Xu took it and was about to watch it, when Wang Dingliu continued, "Besides, there are Xu Sima and Zhu Sima who came to see the envoy!"

Hearing this, Mu Xu was sure to open the letter in his hands, and then laughed and scolded, "You guy has been with me for so long, why haven't you made any progress at all, next time you encounter something like this, it's best to finish it all at once."

After finishing speaking, he stuffed the letter into his cuff and strode away to the front yard.

Wang Dingliu quickly followed, two steps behind, "Yes, I will remember the envoy's teachings, and I will never do it again next time."

"Well, just remember!"

While Mu Xu was thinking in his heart, why Xu and Zhu were looking for him, he asked Wang Dingliu casually, "I heard that your father is ill, but what's the matter?"

"Thank you for your concern, my father is fine after being diagnosed and treated by Dr. An."

"That's good. If you need any valuable medicinal materials, you can go to Madam to ask for it."

Wang Dingliu thanked him again, and then at an angle that Mu Xu couldn't see, there was a trace of struggle on his face, and he finally said, "Master, there are some bad rumors in the family recently, the villain doesn't know whether to say it or not?"

"Huh?" Mu Xu suddenly stopped, turned his head and said seriously, "Just say what you have to say, don't want mother-in-law!"

"Yes, yesterday I overheard a few purchasers discussing... saying that the envoy will definitely rebel against the Song Dynasty in the future, and that the emperor will be disgusted by you at that time."

"You bastard! Who is so bold, dare to talk about the rights and wrongs of the master!" Mu Xu was furious immediately when he heard this, and he said that every time Zhao Fujin saw him these days, he always seemed hesitant to speak, and asked him I don't want to say that it turned out to be the case.

Thinking clearly about the cause and effect inside, Mu Xu's first reaction was to doubt whether these handwritings came from the other wives.

Although he also understands that in the polygamous environment of ancient times, it is common for women in the back house to be jealous and fight openly and secretly for the sake of power, but it is still unavoidable to get angry.

If it was just to fight for favor and use some small tricks, then he could turn a blind eye or close one eye, but what happened this time touched his bottom line a bit.

If Wang Dingliu hadn't reported it to him in time today, perhaps when he found out about it later, Zhao Fujin would already be in trouble, and if it was more serious, he might have collapsed.

Mu Xu has too much to say about this matter. In the original novel of the Red Chamber, wasn't Daiyu slowly killed by Wang's soft knife of gossip?
The more Mu Xu thought about it, the angrier he became, and he immediately ordered Wang Ding Liudao solemnly, "You should check it out privately, who made this statement, even if it involves a few wives, don't pay attention!"

Seeing Mu Xu's unprecedented sternness, Wang Dingliu couldn't help but feel a little bit regretful for what Meng Lang did just now, but now he can only bite the bullet and accept the order, and go to investigate the matter.

After sending Wang Dingliu away, Mu Xu took a deep breath and said to himself softly, "I hope this matter doesn't involve any of you, otherwise don't blame me for not remembering the past!"

When Mu Xu came to the study with a heavy heart, Xu Guanzhong and Zhu Wu rushed forward to salute.

Mu Xu waved his hand, "You two don't need to be too polite, what's the matter that alarmed you to come to see me together?"

After the two looked at each other, Xu Guanzhong said, "Your Majesty, there is an urgent report from Hedong that the Zhongshi has attacked the territory of Fenzhou, and Tian Hu's defeat is imminent."

Mu Xu was surprised, "Why so fast, didn't the Zhongshi Zhong enter the army from Guanzhong last month?"

Zhu Wu smiled wryly and said, "After the two of us received the news, we also found it unbelievable. Anyway, Tian Hu has nearly [-] troops under his command. It just fell apart so quickly, but it happened."

"Do you know the reason?"

Xu Guanzhong explained, "According to the analysis of the information received in recent days, Tian Hu's defeat is entirely his own fault.

This guy has become more and more extravagant and lustful since he became king and established a system. In order to build a palace, he exploited the people under his rule.

Because of Tian Hu's cruelty, he has already lost the hearts of the people. Hearing that wherever the imperial army went, the people all rushed to support him, and there were not a few people who secretly cooperated in attacking the city. "

Mu Xu didn't care about Tian Huhui's defeat, what he cared about was the talents under his command.

"Why is no one admonishing Tian Hu?"

Xu Guanzhong replied, "It's not that there is no, it's that it can't. At the beginning, some people would persuade Tian Hu from time to time, but Tian Hu didn't listen, so he transferred the people who persuaded him to other places. If things go on like this, there will only be people around him There are flattering villains left, as well as my own brothers and nephews?"

"Forget it, let's not mention Tian Hu. Let's talk about Wu Lidian. Has he ever sent a letter asking us to send troops to support him?"

As Zhu Wu, who was in charge of contacting Wulid'an, after hearing Mu Xu's question, he hurriedly replied, "Replying to the envoy, General Wulid wrote in a letter the day before yesterday that he had secretly contacted a group of like-minded people, and even Gathered up some people, and when the time comes, they will leave in time. It's just..."

Mu Xu was happy to hear that, but seeing Zhu Wu's mouth suddenly stopped, his face was even more troubled, he couldn't help but wonder, "Mr.

After Mu Xu's permission, Zhu Wu said, "General Wulid made a request in the letter. He wants to bring his sister and nephew to Yunzhou together. I wonder if the envoy can agree?"

Mu Xu smiled and said, "What am I supposed to be? You write back and tell him that I agree. I don't even care about Tian Hu, let alone his son?"

(End of this chapter)