After Wang Gang and Sheng Changbai decided to take the college examination, the Sheng family began to get busy.
The college examination is different from the county examination and the prefectural examination. Not only does it take several days, you will be trapped in a small cubicle while eating, drinking, and eating. The examination location is not in Yangzhou City, but in Jinling City, several hundred miles away.
It’s not easy to go out in this era. Let’s not talk about transportation. Even the risks along the way are not small.
Fortunately, Sheng Hong was an official in Yangzhou and his family was quite wealthy, so he prepared carriages for Wang Gang and Sheng Changbai.
In order for his sons to pass the college entrance examination, Sheng Hong asked Wang Gang and Sheng Changbai to leave two months in advance and live in Jinling City for a month to familiarize themselves with the examination environment.
For safety on the road, Wang Gang and others took the official road, and the old lady even sent Master Liao to accompany them.
Master Liao took Wang Gang and Sheng Changbai in a carriage, and a dozen servants of the Sheng family followed outside. People who didn't know it thought they were traveling with important people.
It's impossible not to create such a big scene. It's not peaceful outside now, and bandits will be encountered even on official roads.
Fortunately, the official road was relatively safe, and there were many people like Wang Gang, so they encountered no danger during the two days on the road.
Sitting in the carriage, Wang Gang and Sheng Changbai were not idle, holding books all day long. Sometimes Master Liao would give them a test, so they were not lonely on the road.
"Have you ever thought about what kind of official you want to be after passing the exam?" Master Liao asked Wang Gang and Sheng Changbai.
Sheng Changbai said without hesitation: "I want to rule the world like my grandpa and deserve to enjoy the imperial temple."
Sheng Changbai's idol has always been his grandfather Wang Taishi. It is not surprising that he has such an ideal.
Master Liao was unmoved and looked at Wang Gang again.
Wang Gang lowered his head and thought for two seconds before saying: "I want to regain Yanyun, unify the Central Plains, make the people live and work in peace and contentment, and there will be no more wars and disputes in the world."
Sheng Changbai looked at Wang Gang in surprise. He probably didn't expect his younger brother to have such a big ideal. Just recovering Yanyun would be difficult to achieve, and the rest was simply a delusion.
Master Liao taught Wang Gang for more than a year and vaguely guessed some of his ideals.
"Your ideal is too vague, first tell me what your thoughts are on regaining Yanyun?" Master Liao said sharply.
Wang Gang said: "The sixteen states of Yanyun fell into the hands of the Liao people. If you want to recover them, you must first destroy the Liao Kingdom."
Master Liao sneered and said: "The Liao Kingdom has millions of troops. How can you destroy it alone? Our dynasty has experienced Taizu, Taizong, Zhenzong, and even the current four dynasties have been unable to regain Yanyun. What can you do!"
Wang Gang shook his head and said: "Now and then, what was left unfinished by the first four dynasties may not be accomplished by future generations. Besides, I think now is the best time to recover Yanyun and destroy the Liao Kingdom."
Master Liao's eyes flashed and he asked, "How do you say this?"
Wang Gang talked eloquently: "During the time of Emperor Taizu, the Liao Kingdom was very powerful, and its military strength was far superior to that of the Song Dynasty. The enemy was strong and we were weak, so we were naturally invincible.
However, since the Zhenzong period, when Song and Liao signed the Chanyuan Alliance and the two countries stopped fighting, the situation of strength and weakness has been reversed."
Master Liao sat up straight and asked: "Do you think the signing of the Chanyuan Alliance is a good thing?"
Wang Gang shook his head and said: "Song and Liao signed the Chanyuan Alliance. We, the Song Dynasty, exchanged annual coins for peace. Naturally, we lost power and humiliated the country. However, under the circumstances at that time, the Chanyuan Alliance was actually the best choice."
The Chanyuan Alliance was an alliance concluded between the Northern Song Dynasty and the Liao Kingdom after twenty-five years of war.
In the first year of Jingde reign of Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty, Empress Dowager Xiao of the Liao Kingdom and Shengzong of the Liao Kingdom personally led an army southward and penetrated deep into the Song Dynasty.
At that time, some ministers advocated fleeing south to avoid the enemy. Song Zhenzong also wanted to flee south. Because of the urging of Prime Minister Kou Zhun, he went to Chanzhou to supervise the war.
The two countries fought for several times, with each winning and losing. In the end, neither could win over the other, and neither could afford to spend. They had no choice but to negotiate a peace and sign the Chanyuan Alliance.
The Liao and Song Dynasties were countries of brothers. The Song Dynasty gave Liao 100,000 taels of silver and 200,000 bolts of silk every year. The Song and Liao Dynasties used the Baigou River as the border. Because Chanzhou was also called Chanyuan County in the Song Dynasty, it was called "Chanzhou" in history.
Alliance of the Abyss".
In the following decades, there were no large-scale wars between Song and Liao. They exchanged supplies and established diplomatic relations.
"The Chanyuan Alliance is nothing more than a treaty signed by those scholar-bureaucrats who were afraid of war and signed a treaty that was humiliating and humiliating the country." Master Liao snorted coldly.
Wang Gang shook his head and said: "Be aware of shame and then be brave. The Chanyuan Alliance was the best choice for the Song Dynasty at that time. Prime Minister Kou was far-sighted. It is a pity that future generations are unfilial and gradually forget the shame and settle for enjoyment."
Master Liao was surprised and said: "How can you say this?"
Wang Gang said: "At the beginning of the founding of the Song Dynasty, we were in a state of ruins waiting to be revitalized, but in fact we were unable to resist the Liao Kingdom. Seeing this, Prime Minister Kou wanted to retreat in order to advance, and signed an alliance with the Liao Kingdom in exchange for short-term peace.
, secretly developing national strength, intending to imitate the Yue King Gou Jian, who gathered together for ten years, learned lessons for ten years, and tried his best to endure hardships.
It's a pity that Prime Minister Kou left too early, so that he finally turned into a coward. The DPRK and China enjoyed peace for too long, and no one wanted to go to the Northern Expedition."
Wang Gang still has some things that are hard to say. In fact, Song Zhenzong also intended to make the Northern Expedition. Unfortunately, he died early, and his successor Song Renzong was too young, so the power of the government fell into the hands of Empress Dowager Liu.
This Empress Dowager Liu was a female prostitute who controlled the power of the country and tended to be conservative in her governance. Later she wanted to imitate Wu Zetian and become the female emperor. As a result, she had a tug-of-war with the opposition in the DPRK, causing the Song Dynasty to miss the best opportunity for the Northern Expedition.
After the death of Empress Dowager Liu, Song Renzong inherited her conservative policy of governing the country. Wang Gang had some things that he could not say, saying that even if he was treasonous, Sheng Hong would be able to destroy his relatives.
"Those ministers in the court know how to fight for power and gain, but they don't know about the suffering of the people. The people in the Yanyun area have been ravaged by foreigners for many years, and they have long been looking forward to the imperial army to regain their lost territory." Master Liao snorted coldly.
Wang Gang said: "Today's officials focus on internal affairs, which is a good thing. Unfortunately, officials are too benevolent. As the saying goes, kindness cannot lead an army."
Sheng Changbai frowned and said to Wang Gang: "Third brother, be careful what you say. Be careful that walls have ears."
Wang Gang glanced outside the carriage and disapproved.
"Second brother, what do you think of today's official family?" Wang Gang asked.
"If an official loves his people like his own son, he is a well-deserved wise king." Sheng Changbai said matter-of-factly.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! A look of disdain appeared on Master Liao's face, but it flashed by and no one saw it.
Wang Gang said: "Today's officials are quite like Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, but what the Song Dynasty really needs now is Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty."
Master Liao's eyes lit up and he said to Wang Gang: "It's a pity that the heirs of the official family are not close, and I don't know what will happen to the successors?"
Sheng Changbai felt that the carriage could no longer stay any longer. Could he listen to what his younger brother and Master Liao were talking about?
"Ahem, Master Liao, my brother and I didn't even pass the exam. Are the temple affairs too far away from us?" Sheng Changbai coughed, wanting to remind his brother and Master Liao not to talk about beheading again.
At this time, an old servant of the Sheng family walked up to the carriage and said inside: "Second Young Master, Third Young Master, there is a group of blockers in front of you, they seem to be bandits."
Sheng Changbai was shocked, the thing he feared most had come.
Master Liao stopped Sheng Changbai who was about to get out of the car, and then said to Wang Gang: "Your opportunity for actual combat has come."
Wang Gang nodded, took out a short stick from the baggage in the carriage, and followed Master Liao out of the carriage.
On the official road, a group of people appeared opposite the Sheng family's carriage, holding simple weapons. The leader even wore armor, which looked like military goods.
Wang Gang's pupils shrank when he saw the armor.
Ordnance and weapons were regulated items in the Song Dynasty, especially military armor. No matter who it was, collecting more than ten pieces of armor was equivalent to treason.
The group of people across from them were able to obtain military armor. They were obviously not ordinary bandits.
A servant of the Sheng family has gone to discuss with the leader and plans to spend money to settle the matter.
But the next moment, Wang Gang saw a flash of sword light, and the servant fell down helplessly, with bright red blood flowing all over the floor.
"Something's wrong, those people might not be bandits!?" Master Liao immediately reminded Wang Gang when he saw the servant was killed.
Wang Gang raised his arms and called to the remaining servants of the Sheng family: "Surround the carriage to protect my elder brother."
After the call, Wang Gang rushed out with a short stick, choosing to strike first.
Wang Gang used all his strength as soon as he took action, and his physique that was twice as strong as that of ordinary people was reflected at this time.
He was more than twenty steps away from the robber, but he rushed to the front man in just two breaths.
The short stick in Wang Gang's hand turned into an afterimage and hit the bandit hard on the head.
boom!
The man was dizzy after being hit, and Wang Gang hit him with another stick, knocking him unconscious.
Master Liao on the other side was like a tiger rushing into a flock of sheep, killing all the gangsters and leaving no trace behind.
The master and the apprentice fought against more than a dozen bandits, but the battle was over in just a few breaths, and people were lying on the ground.
Wang Gang stood in the middle with a short stick in his hand, breathing heavily.
Master Liao didn't blush or breath, but his face was terrifyingly gloomy.
"These people should not be ordinary gangsters." Master Liao said to Wang Gang.
