"I dare not!" Zhang Jun, who was also relieved, was still extremely respectful. "The emperor and the gentlemen are sitting, where is the place for a warrior like me?"

"Why should I be afraid of that?" Zhao Jiu came back to his senses and laughed. "Han Liangchen passed by here a few days ago. I don't believe that General Zhang didn't see the jade belt on his waist... Han Wu is not even a general, but he dares to wear a jade belt and walk around the border all day long. How dare you, General Zhang, not sit with me?"

Zhang Jun continued to decline.

"Zhang Qing," Zhao Jiu was helpless when he saw this. "Could it be that you knew I had forgotten about the people and things after falling into the well, so you deliberately distanced yourself from me? It is precisely because of this that you and I should be more frank and intimate, so that our past closeness will not become a burden."

After hearing this, Zhang Jun did not dare to hesitate any longer, and walked forward, passing the Chief Censor Zhang Jun, whose name was very similar to his, and sat down with several ministers from the East and West Palaces. However, he sat at the outermost position, leaving only half of his butt on the stool.

Seeing the other party's attitude, Zhao Jiu simply waved his hand and said bluntly: "How about this, please leave for Xiacai (the name of Shouzhou's capital county) as soon as possible to settle down, so as to avoid being cold outside. The rest of the civil and military officials also help to settle down the troops. I have a few words to say to General Zhang in private..."

Everyone was shocked, and when Lu Haowen was hesitating, Zhang Que, who had just returned to the core circle and was the co-director of the Privy Council, stiffened his neck and said:

"When the emperor is talking to the Grand Marshal, he must avoid the Prime Minister unless necessary!"

Zhao Jiu had no choice but to change his words: "I'm going to ask General Zhang some personal questions."

"How could the emperor have any private affairs?" Zhang Que almost blurted out.

Zhao Jiu was obviously angry, but he could only stand up and wave his sleeves: "Then please enjoy the wine and ducks here slowly, and General Zhang, please come and ride with me and watch the snow scene on the Huai River!"

Zhang Xu originally wanted to continue to follow, but thinking of the official's well-known horsemanship, and the fact that it was really cold outside the pavilion, he was so angry that he simply did not stand up to see him off. Instead, he lowered his head and asked someone to bring the duck. The chef in the pavilion had already prepared it, but he served a portion of salted duck first, and then hurriedly demonstrated his roast duck cooking skills to the gentlemen.

When all the civil and military officials saw the emperor and Zhang Jun, who hurriedly followed, riding their horses towards Huaikou, only Yang Yi Zhong and a few other riders followed them from a distance. Maybe it was because of the name, but after Zhang Shuxiang swallowed a mouthful of roast duck, he took his anger out on Zhang Jun, the Chief Censor. He even picked up the duck leg and scolded him in public, saying that Zhang Deyuan, as the head of the Censors, had no backbone.

Zhang Deyuan was young and successful, and he knew that he was not on the same side as these old officials, so how could he show weakness? Although he couldn't be as direct as the other party, he also became sarcastic, so that the other officials, civil officials, and Zhang Jun's military entourage, who were aware of the situation, tried to persuade him... But no matter what, no matter how much trouble there was in the pavilion, it would be difficult to stop the emperor from meeting with the military officials in private again.

The snow was falling more and more rapidly, and the yellow and white dry grass by the river had already turned pure white. Zhao Jiu, Zhang Jun, Yang Yi Zhong and his companions hurriedly rode their horses away from Dongtai Pavilion where there was a heating stove, avoiding the large group crossing the Feishui River. As soon as they crossed the road, their footprints were almost obscured by the wind and snow.

But in the snow, when Zhao Jiu, led by Zhang Jun, turned onto a gentle slope and stopped to look into the distance, he saw the mist rising from the Huai River, intertwined with the snowflakes. At this time, the sky and the earth were clearly separated, yet hazy. It was a whole, yet the sky, the earth, the mountains and the rivers were clearly separated. It was simply a picturesque landscape...Zhao, who was born in a small family, had never seen such a scenery before. Naturally, he was amazed, and the unhappiness he had just felt with Zhang Que disappeared immediately. He almost wanted to recite a poem on the spot.

However, Zhao Jiu was an engineering graduate who only knew how to read online novels. His literary literacy was so shallow that it was difficult for him to copy a poem to suit the occasion, so he just held back!

After Emperor Zhao had looked at the scenery for a long time, he turned around and saw Yang Yizhong standing on his horse a dozen steps away, and a group of imperial guards standing a dozen steps further away. With only General Zhang at his side, he finally got to the point:

"Zhang Qing, do you know what I was thinking about when I sat in silence in the pavilion before?"

"I dare not make a rash guess." Zhang Jun, who had been paying attention to Emperor Zhao's attitude and had already thought of various answers in his mind, spoke up quickly. "Could it be that the emperor thinks that my decoration in the pavilion is a bit extravagant? Don't worry, my emperor knows that life is difficult. Now that I have returned to the imperial court, all the captured supplies will naturally be allocated by the central government. And I will never let my subordinates cause trouble for such a thing."

"You think too much." Zhao Jiu held the reins and continued to look at the steam above the Huai River and said slowly. "I was thinking about how to make General Zhang more sincere and use him for my own benefit, and then I naturally thought of the encounter between you and me as the king and minister, and I couldn't help but think a little more..."

"I am ashamed, but I have something to say." Zhang Jun lowered his head and answered. "I also knew about the emperor's fall from the well when I was away from the court, but the emperor is as important as Mount Tai. I will never forget the emperor's kindness to me. My loyalty and gratitude to the emperor will never be affected by such a small matter..."

"That's what I thought, too." Zhao Jiu suddenly spoke up, and turned his head to stare at him. "I just spent half a day thinking about it in the pavilion, but suddenly I realized that I was overthinking... You are similar to Liu Guangshi, but slightly different from Han Shizhong. We met in Hebei, and we will prosper together and suffer together. There is no need for us to have belts or no belts between us! Right?"

"That's what I meant!" Zhang Jun was overjoyed, and felt that the anxiety he had felt for several months had instantly disappeared. "The emperor is still the emperor."

Zhao Jiu also laughed when he saw this, but after laughing, he immediately pointed at the other person, and then at himself:

"But Mr. Zhang, that was then. Back then, you and I were in Hebei. Without me, you would be a defeated dog on the road, and without you, I would be bait for the Jin soldiers. But what about now? Now, without you, Mr. Zhang, I still have Han Shizhong and half of Jiangnan to rely on; but without me, you and Liu Guangshi will still be defeated dogs on the road like we were in Hebei! Right?"

Not far away, Yang Yizhong was stunned, and Zhang Jun's face changed drastically.

"Okay, let me ask you now." Zhao Jiu became serious. "General Zhang, can we defend the Huai River? I really don't want to run away!"

PS: Continue the sacrifice - "The Western Army of the Great Song Dynasty", as the name suggests, everyone go and take a look!