Nina was about thirty-seven or eight years old. She had long golden hair that fell down her shoulders. After she came in, she gave me a standard Western aristocratic salute. Then she said in broken Chinese: "Nina has met His Majesty the Emperor of the Song Dynasty. .Long live the emperor, long live the emperor."
Among the foreigners brought by Jerry, Nina's language talent is undoubtedly the best. When she came to the Song Dynasty, Nina has been learning the Song Dynasty dialect from Jerry. After arriving in Lin'an, she can already speak Chinese. Some simple etiquette expressions. Although I am not yet proficient in them, I can basically understand them.
"No courtesy. Mrs. Nina, please take a seat." I did not translate this sentence through Jerry. I said it directly in English. However, I don't know if there is any difference between the English of later generations and the English of more than 700 years ago. I don’t know if Nina can understand it.
The history of the development of English is divided into three stages. From Old English to Middle English and finally Modern English. Before 1150, the grammar of English was relatively similar to German. The morphological changes were very complex. It belonged to the Old English period and later modern English. The difference is huge. In the middle of the thirteenth century, England had entered the Chinese-English period. Therefore, the gap with the English I learned was very small.
Nina was stunned for a while and then said: "DOYOUSPEAKEENGLISH? (You know English.)"
I smiled and said: "ALITTLE (a little)"
“OK.THATISGOOD.(Great)”
Jerry said: "Nina, I know you are an atheist. But you will gradually understand that the emperor is God."
Nina nodded slightly and said: "I have a slight feeling of this. I didn't expect the emperor to speak English."
"Let's get down to business." I knew that if I spoke any more, I would be exposed, so I returned to Chinese. "Mrs. Nina, what kind of job do you want to do when I come to China? Are you going to continue teaching at the university? Or do you have other ideas? .”
"Your Majesty, my husband and I are both atheists, so we are not allowed to live in the country where we live. My husband was assassinated by the church for this reason. A few months ago, I escaped from England and came to Venice. I happened to hear a friend say Mr. Jerry wants to recruit a group of scholars to go to the East. So, I followed Jerry to your country. This is why I asked the emperor yesterday about his views on religion. Since the emperor agrees with freedom of belief, I can rest assured. Life in the Song Dynasty has continued. As for work, I leave it to the emperor to make the final decision. As long as I can use what I have learned, I can do it anywhere."
"Okay. If that's the case, then I will let you join our court's Law Department and serve as a part-time professor in the Department of New Methods at Lin'an University."
Nina said happily: "This is the best."
"Mrs. Nina, I would like to tell you about the Independent Commission Against Corruption. Since I came to the throne, I have discovered that the corruption situation in the court and government at all levels is very serious. As a result, the world has been declining and public resentment has been great. In order to reverse this situation, I established the Independent Commission Against Corruption. The Office. This department is independent of the original judicial system. It is directly led by me. When you arrive at the Law Department, you can have more contact with the officials of the Independent Commission Against Corruption. You will know more about the laws of our country and the Independent Commission Against Corruption. .”
I continued: "Although the laws of our dynasty have been improved a lot in previous dynasties, there are still many problems. At present, our dynasty is promoting the presumption of innocence law and the lawyer litigation system. Therefore, it is very necessary to be proficient in it. As a legal professional, Ms. Nina, I hope to learn from the advantages of your Western laws and combine them with our existing laws. Then we can formulate the most effective new legal provisions based on our country’s national conditions.”
"Your Majesty, I am willing to make my own contribution to the judicial cause of your country."
"Okay." I said happily.
"Your Majesty, may I ask, what is the purpose of enacting laws in your country?"
"Under the leadership of the imperial power, we must be as fair and just as possible."
Nina thought for a moment and then said: "Your Majesty, I have one more question."
Among these outsiders, this lady had the most questions. I smiled and said, "Please tell me."
"Your Majesty, I have escaped from the Kingdom of England. I am homeless. I wonder if I can join the Song Dynasty household registration and become a person of the Song Dynasty."
"Of course. As long as you abide by the laws of our country, especially those with skills, I will welcome them. Just like Mr. Jerry, after becoming a national of our country, you can enjoy the treatment of our citizens regardless of ethnicity or gender. .Get the protection of our government.”
"That's great. Thank you, His Majesty the Emperor."
After talking to everyone, I asked Jerry to arrange the food and accommodation for everyone, and asked Jerry to take them for a walk around Lin'an City. I would not start work until the 11th day of the first lunar month when the court officially came to work.
On the evening of the fifth day of the first lunar month, I hosted a banquet at Shifeng Commercial Bank with Zhang Quanyi, Wen Zhang and others. At the Shifeng gathering at the beginning of this year, there were Gongsun Xiaochen, Pu Shougeng who did not go home, and the new vice president of the Red Cross, Lin Ying. Gongsun Xiaochen performed a few impromptu tricks during the meal, which immediately brought the atmosphere to a climax.
After a while of excitement, I asked: "Xiuyan, Xiaochen. How do you feel about going to the Korean Peninsula with the Eastern Expedition this time?"
Gongsun Xiaochen first said: "The battles between thousands of troops on the battlefield are completely different from the martial arts competitions we see in daily life. Although I have not been there in person, I can feel the cruel atmosphere. Subordinates My martial arts skills are not high, but I have been practicing for more than ten years. If my subordinates were on the battlefield in person, I feel that the martial arts skills they practice on a daily basis are not as direct as the moves of the soldiers."
Tian Xiuyan also said: "Xiao Chen is right. Strength and speed are the most critical factors in fighting on the battlefield. Skills become redundant."
I nodded and said, "That's true. However, I don't want you to become soldiers. I want you to become generals leading the army. Tell me about your understanding of the command of this battle of Goryeo."
Gongsun Xiaochen said: "Your Majesty, this Eastern Expedition. I think that first of all, Yin Yinglei and Li Beiyang commanded them well. They have a strong sense of the overall situation and can make full use of various favorable conditions. For example, using the Goryeo Kingdom Conflicts between different forces. Pull one side to attack the other side to minimize the casualties of our army. At the same time, for the general to be decisive and resolute after analyzing the situation and never to be sloppy. Since the possibility of falling into a quagmire in Goryeo is very high Then withdraw unswervingly. Even if the temporary advantage is obvious, there will be no nostalgia."
"That's right. It is for the general to know the current affairs and advance and retreat in a right way. This is something we should learn from Master Yin and Master Li." Tian Xiuyan also said.
"Xiu Yan, Xiao Chen, you said it well. I asked you to go to Goryeo because I want you to experience the atmosphere of the battlefield for yourself. You two, one is a disciple of the great wizard Jiang Yang, and the other is the master of Gongsun Hall of the Imperial Valley. The young masters all come from the supreme place of martial arts. Compared with other generals in the army, you have a natural advantage. But this advantage can also be said to be a disadvantage. You need to slowly realize this."
Gongsun Xiaochen and Tian Xiuyan said in unison: "Yes, Young Master."
"After the New Year, you will continue your studies at Lin'an Military University. By the middle of this year, I will arrange for you to join the army on the front line. Okay, let's continue to eat."
"That's right. Brother, this is the Chinese New Year. It's time to eat, drink and have fun."
"Well, Ling'er is right. Come on, let's raise a toast to Xianchun's fourth year."
After seeing off Liao Yingzhong, Fan Wenhuan and other guests, Jia Sidao sat alone in the study room of the Prime Minister's Mansion in a daze.
"Every year before the New Year, Monk Lian Zhen will bring a letter to the north. Where is Lian Zhen this year? If he is caught by the Jin Yiwei, will he tell the story about Hao Jing, Wu Lihan and others? What if he is caught? Zhao Yu knows. That is the crime of deceiving the emperor." Thinking of this, Jia Sidao couldn't help but panic. He stood up unknowingly and kept walking back and forth in the room.
In 1260, Hao Jing was sent as an envoy to the Southern Song Dynasty. The Prime Minister Jia Sidao wanted to conceal from his superiors the fact that he had begged for peace with the Mongols in Ezhou the previous year, made a private alliance under the city, but falsely reported a great victory, so he deliberately detained the envoy from the north on the way. And Hao Jing was detained for a long time and was not allowed to advance or retreat.
As for the mysterious imperial master of Mongolia, Jia Sidao had already guessed that it was Hao Jing. Fortunately, Wulihan was still in his hands. Jia Sidao was naturally relieved about the Wu family.
If Hao Jing doesn't get the news about Wulihan, even if Lian Zhen is not caught by Jin Yiwei, will Hao Jing himself tell what happened back then?
"What if I take the initiative to tell Zhao Yu about this? What will be the consequences?" Jia Sidao suddenly thought.
Considering Zhao Yu's personality, how would he handle this matter?
To say it or not to say it. If you say it, you may be seeking death. If you don't say it, you are waiting for death. Jia Sidao wiped the cold sweat on his head and continued to think. After about an hour, Jia Sidao said to himself: "Hao Jing's matter .Except for the Zhongyong camp and the Wu family, the ministers in the court did not know. What if this matter is the late emperor's will."
"Jia Xuan, prepare the ceremony. I will enter the palace tomorrow to pay my respects to the Queen Mother Shouhe."
When I learned about Hao Jing, I just smiled lightly. I didn't know about this history before, so I didn't pay much attention to the matter itself.
For me, there is no need to investigate what happened seven or eight years ago. Whether it was the late emperor's will or Jia Sidao's own will, it is all in the past. What I value more is Jia Sidao. Dao's attitude. I think that Jia Sidao's confession of this matter is a sign of complete surrender and surrender to me.
The day after Jia Sidao entered the palace, Xie Daoqing sent someone to tell Jia Sidao my opinion. Let bygones be bygones, let bygones be bygones. This instruction made Jia Sidao extremely excited. He ordered the Wu family to be released overnight. To Ulihan.
Of course, Jia Sidao didn't tell anything about Lian Zhen.
Sunset and sunrise. Time flies.
On March 16, the fourth year of Xianchun, Achahan, the pioneer of the Mongolian expedition to the south, led 15,000 soldiers to the Lumen Mountain Foraging Field in the southeast of Xiangyang City and stationed themselves in the completed castle.