As expected, the man laughed.
It was not a mockery, and there was no malice in it, but it did carry a hint of arrogance that someone who was not very familiar with this official would not notice.
Laughing at him, laughing at them, laughing at the world.
He recognized this smile.
In fact, the ministers close to the emperor all recognized it, but they tacitly agreed not to mention it to outsiders. Even when this smile appeared on one occasion, he paid special attention to the expressions of Zhang Jun, Zhang Shumi, and Lu Haowen, Lu Gongxiang, and indeed noticed their subtle changes in body language.
He looked away and confirmed that everyone was aware of the situation.
Minister Lin, who was present at the scene, later looked at him, and there was even a hint of sympathy in his eyes.
He still didn't want to think about the meaning of that sympathy, and he didn't know that this former scholar, who was recognized as meticulous and understood the officials' intentions, had guessed a little about the man's origin and understood a little about the relationship between him and the man. But the other party never mentioned it, and when they occasionally crossed paths on official business, they were always distant and polite as civil servants. Anyway, the other party didn't include the biographies of Han Yan or Han Zigao in his visiting card, and the gifts during the New Year were only ordinary writing materials and books, so he could deceive himself and pretend that he didn't know.
He had just collected his thoughts when he heard the other party stop laughing and then spoke.
"No, Zhengfu. It's good to enforce discipline and win every battle, but it's not enough. In my mind, the army has no distinction between military households and civilians. They are all children of the people. They will not tear down houses even if they freeze to death, and will not plunder even if they starve to death. They know why they are fighting, and they will fight to eliminate injustice in the world, not for one family or one surname. Therefore, they will save the people from suffering and fight against Jie and Zhou——"
"Wherever the banners go, the people come with food and drink to welcome the royal army." He imagined the army and whispered the emperor's final words.
The man laughed again, this time sincerely, and nodded, with a light in his eyes, filled with reminiscence, remembrance, approval, hope, and the light of fellow travelers - that was probably the light of the peaceful world above the thirty-three days, the light that made him lean forward and ignore everything - then he turned his head, looked at him seriously, and told him that Yue Pengju and his Yue Family Army were this... the team closest to what he wished for.
Yang Yizhong once again confirmed that he would never understand him and Yue Pengju. But he was no longer jealous.
Because Yue Jiedu will never understand Zhao Jiu's side. Yue Taiwei can see the emperor's favor and build the king's teacher in the heart of the emperor. If Yue Pengju goes a little further, he dares to claim that he is of the same mind and heart as the emperor. But those secrets that belong to people and Zhao Jiu can only be seen by Yang Yizhong.
The man swallowed a word and changed his words in front of him without bothering to hide his expression, which only he could see.
He looked at the guards holding the herbs and saw that they had already walked a few steps away. Then he spoke to his most trusted subordinate who was left:
"Also, keep an eye on Ningde Palace and... Chengping Palace."
Hearing this, the subordinate suddenly raised his head, looking at him with an unbelievable look. But Yang Yizhong stared at him expressionlessly for a few breaths, just like last time. The man swallowed, but did not refute in the end. He crossed his hands to salute and left quietly.
They didn't know that he didn't have the capital to take risks. They didn't know that he had spent his entire life and the two hundred years of luck of the Song Dynasty by taking a gamble.
In the previous games, the will of heaven had never failed him. But Yang Yizhong knew that even if he was the protagonist in a play or a legend in history books, he would not be favored by heaven to the point that he would win the second time by betting the whole world.
At that time, there was a traitor from the Red Heart Team who was tied to the ground and kneeling on one side. His face was a mixture of fear and rebellion under the light of the fire. When he was asked about the reason for his rebellion, he still defended himself, saying that the rise and fall of a country was all determined by fate and that the destiny of the Zhao Song Dynasty was over. He was unwilling to believe it that time, so he kept repeating the words "national hatred and family feud" in his mind and gave it a try.
Two days ago, the doctor, from whom he hid the specific information and only asked for the prescription to inquire about his condition, saw that he looked really bad and actually advised him that life and death were all predetermined and human power was limited. As soon as he said this, the guard who followed him almost drew his sword, but he smiled, waved his hand behind his back, turned around and left - this time he was even more unwilling to believe it, but with the other four words pierced in his heart, he couldn't fight.
He quickened his pace and caught up with the attendant holding the medicine, watching the branches, stems, roots and leaves that had been processed fall into the clean earthenware pot, pouring in clear water, and the soup boiling out tiny bubbles and hot air, letting the steam and the aroma of the medicine invade his hair and sleeves in the sound of leaking water. He watched every step of the brown-black soup from taking it out of the pot to putting it into the pot, and then took out the silver spoon.
That day he tried to suppress the drowsiness brought on by the medicine, and in a state of half-sleep and half-wakefulness he tried hard to draw out a prototype of the evil spirit in his mind, but he couldn't do it.
He only saw the light and Zhao Jiu's smiling eyes.
The man was arrogant and willful, sometimes unreasonable, his temper worsened day by day, and he believed in many strange rules. He was never polite when ordering Yang Yi Zhong around during the day, and would not tell him his origins at night.
"Commander, Minister Lin left half an hour ago."
Yang Yizhong put down the silver spoon and medicine jar in his hand again and blinked.
"Prepare the horses and go to Prime Minister Zhang Shu's residence in the West Palace."
That person is unique, without a match in the world.
(over)
Note:
The prescription for treating typhoid fever used in the article is the formula of Ginseng Baidu Powder, which comes from Volume 2 of "Taiping Huimin Hejiju Fang" compiled by the Imperial Medical Bureau of the Song Dynasty.
The original text is as follows:
Ginseng Detoxification Powder: Treats typhoid fever, headache, stiff neck, high fever, aversion to cold, body aches, cold congestion and cough, heavy nasal congestion, headache due to wind and phlegm, vomiting, chills and fever.
Bupleurum (remove the sprouts), Licorice (roasted), Platycodon, Ginseng (remove the stems), Chuanxiong, Poria (peeled), Citrus aurantium (remove the pulp and stir-fry with bran), Peucedanum (remove the sprouts and wash), Notopterygium (remove the sprouts), Angelica dahurica (remove the sprouts).
Take 30 liang of each of the above ten ingredients and grind them into coarse powder. Take 2 qian each time, add a cup of water, a little ginger and mint, and boil them together for 70%. Remove the residue and take it at any time. If you suffer from more cold, take it hot; if you suffer from more heat, take it warm.
Yuzhi Pills come from Volume 4 of the book.
Renshen Baidu San is still used today and should be considered a classic prescription for treating typhoid fever, as can be seen in the New Clinical Uses of Ancient Chinese Medical Books Series - The Essence of Taiping Huimin Hejiju Prescriptions (Guizhou Science and Technology Press, 2007).
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