When he was approaching the escort barracks, Hua Ju stopped and looked around with the light of the lighting in front of the barracks entrance. He didn't find Shi Song, Sima Hong, and Lu Zhengxin. He knew that the three of them should have left, so he left.

past.

However, as soon as he arrived at the gate of the military camp, before he could enter, Shi Song, Sima Hong, and Lu Zhengxin suddenly came out of the hiding place and stopped him.

"Wenshan, I have waited for you after all." Sima Hong said.

"Why are you still here?" Hua Ju looked at the three of them and asked.

Lu Zhengxin said: "Of course I'm waiting for you."

Hua Ju looked at Shi Song and said indifferently: "What can I, a treacherous minister and a thief, do? Don't tarnish the reputation of loyal ministers like you."

Upon hearing this, the three of them knew that he was still angry about what happened yesterday. Sima Hong said: "Wenshan, what happened yesterday was indeed our fault..."

"No, it has nothing to do with you. It's all because I was too reckless."

Shi Song interrupted before Sima Hong could finish what he said, and said to Hua Ju: "I shouldn't have lost my temper before I heard you finish what you said. It was my fault, and I apologize to you."

As he spoke, he cupped his fists with both hands and bowed deeply to him.

Hua Ju stepped aside and said: "Master Shi, I am the Minister of the Ministry of War and a loyal minister, but I, a treacherous villain, am not qualified to accept your apology. You three adults should please come back."

"Wenshan, don't go, don't go."

Seeing Hua Ju preparing to leave, Lu Zhengxin and Sima Hong quickly grabbed him.

Sima Hong said: "Wenshan, we know you are angry. To be honest, just like the situation yesterday, we would be angry too. But Brother Shi didn't mean to treat you like that. He just has that kind of temper.

There is no room for those traitors.

Especially now that the Song Dynasty is in a state of chaos due to those traitorous officials, and the people are in dire straits, he hates them even more and wishes he could chop them with a knife, so he gets angry when he hears their names."

Lu Zhengxin continued: "Actually, Brother Shi regretted it as soon as you left, so he immediately chased you and wanted to apologize to you, but it was a pity that he was disturbed by those bastards."

Sima Hong said: "Wenshan, Brother Shi has been in poor health. The reason why he is waiting here in this cold weather until now is because I sincerely want to apologize to you. Please don't be angry with him again and forgive him."

"Now that traitors are in power, we should all work together to deal with it. If we don't get along with each other, wouldn't it mean that Cai Jing and his gang of traitors will benefit? Wenshan, please stop arguing with Brother Shi." Lu Zhengxin said.

Shi Song walked up to Hua Ju again and apologized again: "Wenshan, I was wrong yesterday. Please forgive me."

Hua Ju looked at Shi Song but said nothing and walked past him. Sima Hong thought he was still angry and hurriedly shouted: "Wenshan..."

"Aren't you cold after standing for so long?"

Hua Ju stopped, turned his head and said, "There is a fire in my barracks. Come in and warm yourself up if you want."

After saying that, he went to the military camp.

Sima Hong and Lu Zhengxin were startled for a moment, then they laughed, patted Shi Song, and said, "Why are you still hanging around? Let's go."

"Wenshan, wait for us."

The three of them followed Hua Ju to the commander's barracks, and Hua Ju had someone bring them hot tea.

"Wenshan, this tea is good!" Sima Hong said after tasting it.

"Yeah?"

Hua Ju smiled and said, "This is what Yang Jian left before. I don't know much about tea, and I don't know if it's good or not. If you like it, I'll have someone pack some for you when you leave later."

Lu Zhengxin said: "How can this be so embarrassing?"

Hua Ju said: "I don't like drinking tea very much. Those teas will go bad if they are kept for a long time. It is better for you to drink them than to waste them if they go bad."

"In that case, we would like to thank you in advance." Lu Zhengxin cupped his hands and said with a smile.

Shi Song put down the tea and said: "Wenshan, I..."

Hua Ju waved his hand and said, "Stop talking, I know what you mean, and I won't be angry with you anymore."

Shi Song is already in his sixties and is not in good health. Being able to wait outside for such a long time in the cold night already shows his sincerity.

Moreover, he was a loyal and good minister after all. He resisted the invasion of Xixia and Liao in the first half of his life, and fought against treacherous ministers such as Cai Jing and Gao Qi in the second half of his life. He spent his whole life worrying about the Song Dynasty, which not only destroyed his body, but also his son's.

It’s not easy to risk your own life.

When he thought about it, all the anger in his heart disappeared.

"Thank you Wenshan." Shi Song finally showed a smile on his old face.

Sima Hong said happily: "Okay, okay, the misunderstanding has been made clear. From now on, everyone will work together to deal with those treacherous ministers and thieves. Don't mention the unpleasant things in the past again."

"That's right, let him let go of the past and don't even mention it." Lu Zhengxin also said.

The four of them casually chatted about some cheerful topics. After the atmosphere became harmonious, Lu Zhengxin asked: "Wenshan, yesterday you said you were going to recommend Gao Qiu to be the privy envoy. What do you mean by doing this?"

"It's not interesting, I just think he is suitable." Hua Ju said.

Sima Hong said: "Wenshan, please stop playing dumb with us and tell us."

Hua Ju said: "I'm not lying to you, I really just think he is suitable."

Seeing that Hua Ju still refused to say anything, Lu Zhengxin became anxious and said: "Wenshan, please don't make us anxious. If you have any ideas, just tell us and we can help you in court."

"Yes, if you don't say it, you don't regard us as your own." Sima Hong said.

Shi Song also said: "Wenshan, we all know who you are. It is absolutely impossible to recommend a traitor to such an important position, so you must have a plan in mind."

Hua Ju smiled and said, "That's not necessarily true. Maybe I'm looking at Cai Jing. Gao Qiu is so powerful that he knows he can't defeat them, so he wants to use this as a gift to join them. After all, it's easy to enjoy the shade against a big tree."

Shi Song and the others knew that Hua Ju said this deliberately, so they would believe it. Sima Hong said: "If we told others, we might believe this, but you would never believe it."

"Why?" Hua Ju asked.

Sima Hong said: "Because you have the country and people of the Song Dynasty in your heart."

Hua Ju laughed and said, "Don't think of me as that great. I'm just an ordinary person. Everything I do is just to make myself and my family live a better life."

Sima Hong said: "Really? Then why did you ask people to redeem the women sold by Yang Jian's men and return them to their relatives, and also gave them two hundred taels of silver each as their future livelihood."

"In addition, you also returned the properties and fields that Yang Jian robbed to those who were robbed, and gave each person five hundred taels of silver as compensation." Lu Zhengxin also said.

"How did you know this?" Hua Ju asked.

He only told Zhang Shugen about this matter and never told anyone else about it. It was really strange how they knew about it?

Sima Hong said: "It was said by the family members of the women you rescued and those who were returned the house deeds and land deeds by you. And now everyone in Bianjing knows it. Everyone is praising you and saying that you are an upright person who loves the people."

A good official."

"How could this happen?" Hua Ju said to himself.

He originally just wanted to handle these two things quietly and didn't intend to let anyone else know. He didn't expect that such a big fuss would be made in the end. He was really surprised.

Shi Song said: "Wenshan, what kind of character you are now not only known to us, but also to everyone in Bianjing, so please stop lying to us, tell us the truth, and don't make us three old guys anxious anymore.

.”

"Yeah, don't you think you still can't trust us?" Lu Zhengxin said.

Seeing that they really wanted to know, Hua Ju nodded and said: "Okay, I'll tell you. But you are not allowed to tell anyone after hearing this, especially you, General Shi, your temper is like a firecracker.

Just explode, I was worried that you would say it in a hurry, so I didn’t want to say it.”

Shi Song has such a hot temper that he might explode if he says the wrong thing. Hua Ju is really worried that he will spill the beans in front of his grandchildren.

He knew that Shi Song's grandsons didn't have a good impression of him. If Shi Song spoke out in a hurry while talking to them, those boys would talk about it outside and the news would reach the ears of Cai Jing and Gao Qiu. Then his

The plan fell through.

This is also the reason why he refused to speak out, because he was worried that the news would leak out.

"Don't worry, I promise not to tell anyone." Shi Song said hurriedly.

"That's right, we promise not to tell." Sima Hong and Lu Zhengxin also said.

Hua Ju looked at them and said, "Before I tell you, let me ask you a few questions."

"You ask, as long as we know, we will tell you." Lu Zhengxin said.

Hua Ju asked: "Which army do you think has the largest number of people and the most elite army in the Song Dynasty?"

"Needless to say, of course they are the Forbidden Army."

Shi Song said: "The weapons, armor, and horses of the Forbidden Army are all the best in the Song Dynasty army. Food, grass, and silver are also given priority to the Forbidden Army. Moreover, the Forbidden Army has 800,000 people, and its military strength is extraordinary."

Hua Ju asked again: "Which army in Bianjing is the most powerful, and which army is the strongest?"

"Of course it's still the Forbidden Army."

Shi Song said: "The Forbidden Army has 400,000 troops stationed at the borders of Liao and Xixia, 200,000 troops are dispersed and stationed at various dangerous passes and important cities, and the remaining 200,000 troops are all stationed in Bianjing."

Hua Ju nodded and asked again: "Which department is under the jurisdiction of the Forbidden Army?"

"The Commander-in-Chief of the Returned Palace, Commander-in-Chief Gao Qiu, is in charge." Sima Hong said.

Lu Zhengxin said: "Wenshan, you don't even know this, right?"

"No, I know." Hua Ju said.

"Then what else are you asking?" Sima Hong asked.

Hua Ju smiled, leaned forward, put his arms on the table, and asked: "If Gao Qiu becomes the privy envoy, can he still be the commander-in-chief of the palace?"
To be continued...