Chapter 55: I Also Danced

with Swords While Drunkenly·Extra In the first year of Jiatai, the emperor announced to the world that

Yangzhou Yiying Tower was the most elegant place in the Song Dynasty, and personally wrote a plaque with the words "Red Beauty and Proud Bones". Anyone who taunted or bullied the women in the tower would be punished with a cane. For a time, Yiying Tower became the most sought-after place in the country.

Everyone said that the women there were extraordinary, some were as cold as ice, some were as gentle as clouds, and the most precious thing was their true nature. From high-ranking officials to the poor, they treated everyone equally in their eyes, never flattering or looking down on anyone.

Even people from neighboring countries, hearing of the reputation of Yiying Tower, came here to see the sword dance

in Yiying Tower. Yiying Tower was protected by Xiao Hao's reputation and Huang Yaoshi was in charge, so no one dared to provoke it. The temple was also protected by the emperor, and all officials and dignitaries knew that this was a forbidden area and dared not easily offend the emperor.

In order to arouse the people's desire to serve the country, Zhao Zhan spread the story of Xiao Hao. The words that Xiao Hao angrily scolded the dignitaries, denounced the scholars, and denounced the ruffians in the tower were recorded in a storybook, and after exaggeration and adaptation, it became a supernatural story. Everyone admired his courage and foresight. In addition, since his scolding awakened the incompetent emperor, the whole country spread the rumor that Xiao Hao was a guiding light sent by God for the Song Dynasty. There was

even a rumor that when it comes to young people, the best son should be like Xiao Ritian!

After returning to the palace, Zhao Xun thought seriously for several days and made a big move in the court.

He just found out that the court seemed calm, but in fact the powerful officials formed factions and controlled the government, and even used the remonstrances to secretly manipulate his vision and hearing. The people's sentiments and opinions could not reach the ears of the gods, and he could only get what they wanted him to know.

Looking around, there was no one useful in the court.

Zhao Zhun was alone, ignorant of employing people and governing the country, and he had no way to judge loyalty

and treachery. Xiao Hao had reminded him to beware of traitors in the court, and hinted that Han Zhuozhou might not be trustworthy, so Zhao Zhun was wary of the Han Party. The Han Party was like a poisonous pond and evil fog. Zhao Zhun wanted to clean up the government, and had to borrow their power. So Zhao Zhun first ordered to accept Han Zhuozhou's suggestion to rehabilitate Yue Fei, and to send Yue Ke's defense document for Yue Fei to the History Museum, and posthumously confer Yue Fei the title of King of Hubei. Qin Hui's title and posthumous title of Zhongxian were stripped, and his posthumous title was changed to "謬丑", and he was held accountable for his crime of misleading the country.

This move won the hearts of the people and the praise of the country. Han Zhuozhou thought that Zhao Zhuozhou was still under their control.

Zhao Zhuozhou then changed the reign title to Kaixi, taking the first and last two characters of the reign title of Song Taizu "Kaibao" and Song Zhenzong "Tianxi" to show his ambition to restore the Southern Song Dynasty.

Zhu Xi, Peng Guinian and others had bluntly impeached Han Zhuozhou in their early years. At that time, Zhao Zhuozhou believed Han Zhuozhou deeply and labeled Zhu Xi's school as "hypocritical learning" and dismissed many people. Now, if he wants to deal with Han's party, these loyal and honest people who made direct criticisms need to be re-employed.

He ordered that the channels of speech be opened widely, and said, "I am happy to hear what others find difficult to say." He took the opportunity to suppress Han Zhuozhou's power, and demoted Chen Ziqiang, Deng Youlong and others to the Far Evil State Army, and everyone in the court was in danger.

However, Zhao Zeng also paid a heavy price in this purge. His foundation was shallow and he was not strong enough to confront Han's party head-on. He needed his own power to truly purge the court.

Fortunately, the story of Xiao Hao was previously circulated in the streets. In recent years, the people's loyalty to the emperor and patriotism have reached a surging peak. There are many fresh blood in the imperial examinations. Zhao Zeng secretly took advantage of the situation and secretly established his own party.

Five years passed, Xiao Hao never returned, Zhao Xun wanted to use troops to fight in the north, but he couldn't find a good plan and was wavering.

At this time, the situation in the north changed drastically, Mongolia rose, and the Jin Dynasty was invaded by Mongolia for many years, and was forced to move its capital to Bianjing. Wanyan Jing, the Jin ruler, indulged in wine and women, neglected government affairs, and years of wars led to soldiers fatigue and treasury depletion. Han Zhuozhou and others thought that there was an opportunity to take advantage of the northern expedition to win the hearts of the people and improve their prestige, and strongly advised Zhao Xun to go out.

Zhao Xun had been wary of him for a long time, and he became suspicious when he saw that Han's party insisted on fighting, so he chose to listen to the advice of Ye Shi and Hua Yue, who had just been promoted, and put the matter on hold against all odds.

The prince of the Jin Kingdom had been under house arrest in the Song Dynasty for many years. The Jin ruler finally couldn't hold back and threatened the Song Dynasty to take away people, but Zhao Xun ignored it.

Then the Jin Kingdom sent troops in anger, and the Song Dynasty immediately counterattacked. Because it had been keeping a low profile for several years, it successfully captured Sizhou and other places in one fell swoop. The Jin Kingdom was shocked and hurriedly dispatched troops to counterattack, and the two sides fell into a stalemate.

Because the Jin Kingdom had Mongolia in the north and the Song Dynasty in the south, it was difficult to maintain the war between the two sides, so the Jin Kingdom had to propose peace talks with the Song Dynasty.

Zhao Xun knew that the political situation was not stable, so he readily agreed.

This was the most popular counterattack victory since Zhao Xun ascended the throne, and the people's morale was greatly boosted. The whole country said that the Song Dynasty had hope for revival and would soon recover Jiangbei and return to their homeland.

During this period, the Song Dynasty was recuperating. Yiyinglou took in many orphaned children and poor women, and its reputation gradually grew.

Because of the sword skills left by Xiao Hao, Yiyinglou had both power and martial arts, and it looked like the embryo of a new sect.

Feng Heng and Mei Chaofeng stayed in Yiyinglou, one was a scholar and the other a warrior, and they supported each other. One was smart and witty, and was the think tank of Yiyinglou; the other was a swordsman with unparalleled skills, famous all over the world, and the signboard of Yiyinglou. In addition, Huang Yaoshi gave guidance from time to time, and Yiyinglou became the most desirable place in the hearts of women in the Song Dynasty.

After Xiao Hao left, Wang Chongyang became the uncrowned king of the martial arts world. Xiao Hao used to threaten Ouyang Feng in the Central Plains, but now his legs are disabled. Although he left behind martial arts that can restrain Toad Kung Fu, he is afraid that those women will not be able to compete with Ouyang Feng. Wang Chongyang thought about it for a long time and felt that the art of sword dance was not suitable for men to learn, so he decided to ask Duan Zhixing for the art of Yi Yang Finger.

He took Zhou Botong to Dali, but he didn't expect Zhou Botong to cause trouble and put a huge green hat on Duan Zhixing for having an affair with Concubine Liu. After giving birth, Concubine Liu Gui was assassinated. She failed to seek help from Duan Zhixing. Her hair turned white overnight. She ran away in anger and changed her name to Yinggu. She joined Yiying Tower and vowed to punish all the evildoers in the world.

Feng Heng took pity on her and took her in. Later, he found that she was very smart and had the idea of ​​developing her into the head of Yiying Tower. However, Yinggu acted sinisterly and viciously. Feng Heng was worried that she would cause trouble in the future, so he did not allow anyone to teach her the Bingxin Jue method.

Huang Yaoshi and Feng Heng had a daughter who was smart and cute, and very smart. The two doted on her and taught her everything they knew. Thinking about their meeting and Xiao Hao who was traveling overseas, he was filled with mixed feelings.

The seven disciples in Peach Blossom Island each had their own strengths, but only Xiao Hao was taught miscellaneous knowledge by Huang Yaoshi. The others only specialized in one martial art and had already exhausted their efforts. Mei Chaofeng was even more focused on Bing Xin Jue. The martial arts of Peach Blossom Island only involved palm techniques and light skills. Huang Yaoshi regretted that he did not teach Xiao Hao more martial arts in the past, and he also felt that it might be difficult to find someone to inherit the unique arts such as Qimen Bagua, numerology, poetry and prose in the future. After having his daughter Huang Rong, he gradually realized that there was someone to take over and was very happy.

Mei Chaofeng and Chen Xuanfeng fell in love with each other. Huang Yaoshi appreciated Xiao Hao's words and took the initiative to help them get together. The two were overjoyed. Chen Xuanfeng took advantage of the situation to stay in Yiying Tower and became the exclusive flower protector of Yiying Tower. He was taciturn and often looked cold as iron. The girls often teased him as "ice block".

Soon, Wang Chongyang died of illness. Zhou Botong was unwilling to be the head of Quanzhen, so he fled secretly. When he learned that Yinggu was in Yiying Tower, he dared not meet her. Whenever he saw the woman in red clothes with double swords, he avoided her.

In the 14th year of Jiading, the Mongols approached Bianjing, and the Song army was heading north. The two sides came into contact, and the Song army was defeated and fled south, while the Jingdong army surrendered to the Mongols. Zhao Zeng was deeply worried about the growth of the Mongols, and had to send envoys to make peace with the Mongols.

In the 17th year of Jiading, the new king of the Jin Dynasty came to power. Jin Aizong was forced by the situation between the north and the south to ask for a truce between the Song and Jin, and ordered his subordinates not to attack the Southern Song.

The situation in the Song Dynasty had been much cleaner many years ago, and the Han Zhuo family was severely suppressed. Although the new people promoted by Zhao Zeng were not all talented, with the assistance of Ye Shi and the new school of Neo-Confucianism, the national situation was still stable.

As Zhao Zhun grew older, he felt that he had more energy than strength. He always sighed when he thought of Xiao Hao's search for the immortal mountain. He knew that the people in the court were still ready to make a move. To be on the safe side, he secretly told the princes that if they inherited the throne one day, they could help Xiao Hao in the court when they heard that he had returned. This person was trustworthy.

Later, Zhao Zhun was poisoned to death by the powerful prime minister

Shi Miyuan, and Zhao Yun ascended the throne. The world was impressed by Zhao Zhun's reform of the government and his gradual plan for the north, and gave him the temple title "Ningzong".

However, the new emperor Zhao Yun indulged in pleasure and was lazy in government affairs. He only wanted to be safe and had no ambition to restore the country.

The court was changing, and the martial arts world never stopped.

Ouyang Feng has been hiding for many years and returns with his nephew. The women of Yiyinglou are waiting for him. As soon as he sets foot on the land of Central Plains, he is caught off guard by the Nine-tone Shocking String Formation. People then know how powerful the sword formation of Yiyinglou is, and compare it with the Quanzhen Sect's Tiangang Beidou Formation, and even think that this formation is more powerful than Tiangang Beidou.

Ouyang Feng is afraid of the sword formation and dares not confront it head-on. When he learns that Xiao Hao has been out to sea for many years, he proposes to Peach Blossom Island to get the Nine Yin Manual.

In the same year, Mu Nianci is extremely disappointed with Yang Kang. She is heartbroken and is recommended by Hong Qi to join Yiyinglou.

Each generation of beauties in Yiying Tower has their own merits and is famous for a time.

Ouyang Ke instigated Yang Kang to make a scene in Yiying Tower, but they were both driven out. Yang Kang saw Mu Nianci's disappointment and regretted it. He never went along with Wanyan Honglie again. Wanyan Honglie therefore hated Yiying Tower and repeatedly made things difficult for them, but Feng Heng and Yinggu resolved their conflicts one by one.

In the first year of Duanping, Zhao Yun allied with the Mongols to destroy the Jin Dynasty. The Jin Dynasty was destroyed, and the Mongols and Song Dynasty faced each other from north to south. The Song army, which wanted to recover the Central Plains in one fell swoop, was strongly counterattacked by the Mongols, and the Southern Song Dynasty suffered a great blow.

In the seventh year of Chunyou, Zhao Yun heard about the good deeds done by Yiyinglou for many years and was very impressed. He followed Yiyinglou's example and established the Charity Bureau in Lin'an, hoping to eliminate the crying of hungry children on the road. During his reign, it was initially effective.

After a storm, Jingrong and his wife finally got married. Huang Yaoshi and Feng Heng did not want to be involved in worldly affairs anymore, so they lived in seclusion in the high pavilion of Yiyinglou, staying indoors all year round, waiting for news from overseas.

In his later years, Zhao Yun was obsessed with women and even had his eyes on Yiyinglou. Yinggu ordered people to secretly warn the emperor. Zhao Yun was stunned and was scolded. He felt like he fell into an ice cave. He woke up and dared not indulge in pleasure again.

Later, the Song Dynasty was in danger, and Jingrong and his wife defended Xiangyang. Feng Heng was weak and unable to do anything, so he handed Yiyinglou over to Guo Xiang.

However, Yiyinglou was retaliated by the old party of the Jin Kingdom, and when Guo Xiang took the women of Yiyinglou to Xiangyang, they set it on fire.

Guo Xiang decisively abandoned the building, putting the overall situation first. Yiyinglou no longer existed, but the sisters in the building were still there. They helped in Xiangyang and echoed the new generals who guarded the three passes of Yiyang to fight against the Mongolian army. Huang Yaoshi and others also went to the three passes of Yiyang, as if they had found old friends who had been away for a long time.

Many, many years later, the elders had passed away, and Guo Xiang was filled with emotion. There were countless women in Yiyinglou who sacrificed their lives for the country, but the world had been settled and it was difficult to turn back.

Guo Xiang brought the remaining disciples of Yiyinglou to rebuild the family, believing that women are as capable as men, and that men can shoulder the responsibility of the country and women can also shoulder the heavy responsibility, so they changed the name to "Emei".