Master Zhao Fen was of course very happy about this. However, although his name contained the character "Fen", he had lived in Beijing with his parents a long time ago and had only a few vague impressions of his hometown. He might not be that excited.

But in the evening of that day, after Zhao Fen had arranged everything at home, he waited for his father to return and saw the guests for the evening. Only then did he realize that he had underestimated his father's excitement at the moment.

There were only two guests, one was the prime minister Zhang Jun and Zhang Deyuan, the other was the Minister of Works Hu Yin and Hu Mingzhong... Together with their own father, the prime minister Zhao Ding and Zhao Yuanzhen, who was sitting in the host seat, they were the so-called Three Ministers of the Jing Kang Imperial Academy.

This was a typical private banquet. Although Zhang Jun's son was still young, his clan was very large and he brought three or five adult nephews and nephews to help with the household. Hu Yin was similar, as he had his half-brother Hu Hong and a distant cousin who came to study with him... For a moment, coupled with the Zhao family, which already had many descendants, it was quite lively.

When the banquet was set up, there were only two tables. One was outside, where Zhao Fen let Hu Hong, who had passed the imperial examination and was already working as an official, sit at the first seat, and then he sat with his brother and a few others. At the other table inside, there were only three main characters, and there was no one to pour wine and serve them.

It also made the people outside secretly amazed.

“There’s ginger and fermented black beans.”

The three of them sat down, and Zhang Jun glanced at the food and wine on the table and laughed. "Brother Yuan Zhen really doesn't forget his roots."

"Ben means the beginning. Everything has a beginning." Zhao Ding smiled as he heard this. "When the emperor was in Hangzhou, he would always say this when he came here...Everything must have its beginning. How can a person forget his roots? How can he forget the contribution of 'Minister Jiang' and the emperor's kindness in recognizing him?"

After saying this, the two of them laughed together, and the tension they had when they first arrived also relaxed a little.

Hu Yin, on the other hand, remained the same as he had been ten years ago. He stood up without saying a word, took the initiative to pour wine for the two men who could almost be called sworn brothers, and then sat back calmly with his usual expression.

"Although this is a family dinner, we must first toast with a glass of wine." Zhang Jun's smile calmed down a little, and he raised his glass to the other party. "The great progress of the Hedong royal army was expected, but for Brother Yuan Zhen, he has finally found his roots and is no longer a drifter... We should congratulate him."

Upon seeing this, Hu Yin immediately stood up and offered the wine. Zhao Ding nodded, and rarely showed any sign of humility. He just picked up the cup and drank it all in one gulp.

Immediately, Hu Mingzhong poured wine for the three people in turn again. After pouring the wine, he sat back in his seat, but directly tapped his chopsticks and started eating the steaming fish soup in front of him.

As for Zhao and Zhang, they each drank a glass of wine, but remained silent, just sighing, as if they were recalling the past and thinking about the relationship between them, with a lot of emotion.

"It's not snowing heavily, is it?" For some reason, although they have been friends for more than ten years, after a while, the two of them had almost nothing to say to each other, so Zhang Deyuan had to talk about the weather for the sake of conversation.

"It's not raining heavily." Zhao Yuanzhen also seemed to have come to his senses and continued. "I have asked many old people, and they all said that there is no abnormality in the climate this year. According to experience, at most the small rivers and wells will freeze this month. Even if there is a severe cold, so that the big rivers freeze, it will have to wait until the first few days of the twelfth lunar month... However, we are here to take responsibility, no matter what the weather is like, we must prepare for the worst... Chen Shuxiang (Chen Gui) should also be given more attention, and the ice-breaking work on the Yellow River should be organized in advance."

"That's right." Zhang Jun nodded repeatedly, but sighed again. "In fact, the key is still Daming Mansion. If Yue Pengju can capture Daming Mansion in one fell swoop, everything will be easy."

"Yue Pengju is not a god." Zhao Ding could only smile bitterly. "There are five thousand households behind Daming Prefecture, plus the four or five thousand households in Longde Prefecture, which can be reached in a few days. Their military strength is much weaker than that of the opposite side. Moreover, Daming Prefecture itself is a strong city, surrounded by rivers on three sides, which is a natural obstacle... How can the city be broken? He is a detachment, as long as he can attract the East Route Army firmly, it will be fine. If he can attract the West Route Army, that would be the best situation, but then it will be Yue Fei's turn to defend the city. Snow may be a good thing again."

"Yue Pengju is a famous general." Zhang Jun sighed immediately. "I think if we can give him more soldiers, maybe we can directly open a gap in Hebei during this northern expedition... If we can directly break through Damingfu before the New Year... The Jin army will be at a loss and can only gather troops in the fields. Then, when the two wings of the royal army have rested, we can join forces on the banks of the mountains and rivers and wipe out the bandits in one fell swoop."

Zhao Ding wanted to say something but stopped himself. In the end, he had to look at Hu Yin who had already lowered his head and eaten half of the fish.

"The government has its own considerations for the military and the country. It has already decided to focus on the east of the river. How can it be changed?" Hu Yin answered without raising his head. "Besides, the weather is not favorable... If we want to break the city, there are ways. For example, we can send the fleet to both sides of Damingfu and then use heavy troops to cut off the rear, so that the Jin army's reinforcements cannot get close to the city, and the royal army will have a local advantage in strength, so that it will be easier to carry out... This strategy was previously drafted by the military academy and the Privy Council, but that was after the spring when the water was strong. Now it is winter. Not only is the water shallow, but it may also freeze. Unless there is a way to break the city immediately, the situation will be very bad. Who dares to give it up lightly?"

Zhang Jun was embarrassed for a moment.

Hu Yin did not save face for his elder brother at all, and just continued to persuade him earnestly: "Brother Deyuan, now it has been almost fifty days since the sudden death of the Third Prince of the Jin Kingdom, and more than forty days since the emperor ordered the troops to be dispatched. Three states have been recovered in Hebei, and six or seven states have been recovered in Hedong. Are you still thinking about your own gains and losses and can't calm down to serve the country? If so, why not take the initiative to resign and rest for a few days, and just hand over the matter to Brother Yuanzhen, and then I, Liu Ziyu, and Lin Jingmo will assist and do it for Brother Deyuan?"

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