The intelligence agency of the Song Dynasty was too incompetent. More than a hundred Mongolians sneaked into our country and hid near the capital without even noticing it. Is there someone at the border who is collaborating with the enemy? Or is there someone in the country cooperating with them?
In this era, news spread very slowly. How did the Mongols know that I was coming to Kuaiji? And when did they know it? If I go from Lin'an to Mongolia and then back to Lin'an, even if there are carrier pigeons to transmit the message, how will this coming and going be wrong?
It takes half a month to a month, which means that someone sent the news to Mongolia from early to mid-December last year, and at this time only the people in the palace and the ministers of the DPRK knew about it.
In any case, Ryuga's intelligence department needs to step up its efforts.
A war without intelligence is like a blind man fighting a war, which will only lead to defeat but no victory.
At noon, we bypassed Kuaiji City and drove directly to the villa of Quanjiu's family. After lunch, I lay down in the car and had a good sleep. After all, I was tortured by the men in black in the morning.
As evening approached, dozens of us rushed to the villa, nearly half a day later than planned.
It is said that the surname Quan originated from the Zhou Dynasty in ancient times. At that time, there was an official position called Quanfu Official, which specialized in managing coins, and Quanfu was an institution that specialized in managing currency. Some of the descendants of Quanfu Official had Quan as their surname.
, later evolved into Quan, which became the origin of today's Quan surname.
There are very few people with the Quan surname, and most of them are concentrated in the Jiangnan area. People with the Quan surname in Kuaiji claim to be descendants of Quan Cong, the famous general of the Eastern Wu Dynasty in the Three Kingdoms.
Quanfu Town in Kuaiji can be said to have the largest concentration of people with all surnames.
Quanjiu's home is at the northernmost end of Quanfu Town.
It is the New Year, and Quanfu Town is also full of joy.
Compared with the Han and Tang Dynasties, the Song Dynasty paid huge amounts of external compensation, but it remained very wealthy for a long time, which is enough to show that the Song Dynasty's economy was highly developed. It was only in the late Southern Song Dynasty that corrupt officials became rampant and the country began to become poor.
In addition, the Han people in the north were destroyed and their families continued to move south, which also led to an increase in the number of refugees in various places, and scenes of decline could be seen everywhere.
This Quanfu Town may be because of the Crown Princess Quan Jiu, but the officials in Kuaiji City do not dare to act excessively. It seems to be relatively prosperous and harmonious, and unlike other towns, there are few beggars and homeless people.
I exchanged greetings with the elders in the town for a while, then walked to Quanjiu's house.
Although the courtyard of Quanjiu's family is large, it looks very old. Although she is the crown prince, Quanjiu has always been low-key and self-sufficient, and is unwilling to use her status to seek personal gain for her family.
The horizontal plaque in front of the villa was written by Quan Jiu's father during his lifetime, "Qiuquan villa".
Quan Jiu's father also said many times when he was an official that an official must fulfill his responsibilities and seek perfection in everything. This "seeking perfection" should be his motto.
I looked back at Quan Jiu and saw that he was staring blankly at the door plaque. I knew that Quan Jiu was missing his father, so I held his hand and walked in together.
Qiuquan Villa is divided into two courtyards, front and rear. Although it is old, it is also clean. Behind the Villa is what Quan Jiu calls the back mountain.
The current head of the villa is Quan Jue, Quan Jiu's younger brother. Quan Jue, the only immediate relative of Quan Jiu, does not want to go to Beijing. Instead, he chooses to stay in his hometown in Kuaiji. The family has an old butler, Quan Lifu, leading more than a dozen servants.
There are dozens of long-term workers on the back mountain. Because most of the land is hilly and mountainous, there is very little fertile land. These long-term workers are mainly engaged in breeding, raising a lot of pigs, cows, chickens and other livestock, and doing a little bit of maintaining the mountain forests.
As soon as Quanjiu got home, she asked questions here and there, wandering left and right, looking very excited. Seeing that Quanjiu was happy, I ignored her and let her walk around.
After arranging the accommodation for the guards, Lan Yu said: "Your Majesty, this villa is really big enough. It won't feel crowded at all after dozens of guards have settled in."
"I heard from Concubine Quan that it's going to be even bigger in the future. Let's go up to the mountain to have a look tomorrow. You all can rest early tonight."
"Yes, Your Majesty, I will take a rest after arranging the defense."
After dinner, I summoned Quan Jue and his teacher Shen Yiqiu in the living room.
Originally, I only had one purpose for going to Qiuquan Villa, which was to inspect the New Army Base to see if it was feasible. Later, after hearing Quanjiu mention Quan Jue and Shen Yiqiu, I added the purpose of recruiting talents.
Quan Jue has a gentle appearance, similar to Quan Jiu in appearance, and has a handsome face, while Shen Yi Qiu is also energetic. It seems that Quan Jiu's family's villa is raising people.
I saw that the two of them were very restrained, so I spoke first: "Quan Jue, you and your sister look so much alike. We are so talented."
Quanjue stood up and replied: "Your Majesty, thank you, haha."
"Just sit down and talk. This is at home, so there is no need to be restrained." I smiled and said to Shen Yiqiu, "Mr. Shen is also radiant. You can see that the sword is still young. How noble is this year, Mr. Shen?"
Shen Yiqiu was very happy when he heard me call him sir: "Back to the emperor, I am sixty-two years old this year."
"Well, you will get stronger when you are old. I heard from Concubine Quan that you are a descendant of Shen Kuo?"
"Exactly."
"Shen Kuo, Lord Shen, is a talented person in our dynasty. I plan to renovate his tomb in a few days, erect a monument with inscriptions, and build an academy in Lin'an named after Shen Kuo. All students in the academy must study Shen Kuo's doctrines."
When Shen Yiqiu heard what I said, he was suddenly stunned. Then he burst into tears of joy and hurriedly knelt down and said, "Thank you for your grace. My ancestors have thanked you for your grace." After saying that, he kowtowed three times solemnly.
Most of the literati of this era hoped that their theories would be appreciated by the royal family and spread throughout the ages. Shen Kuo was never reused during his lifetime. Although his masterpiece "Mengxi Bi Tan" was highly valued by the academic community after its publication, it failed to gain the emperor's approval. Shen Yiqiu recognized it, so even when he died in depression, he did not forget to ask his descendants to dedicate this book to the emperor when he had the opportunity. As his descendant, Shen Yiqiu naturally hopes to fulfill his ancestor's last wish. At this time, hearing what I said naturally brought back memories With this thought in mind, even though Shen Yiqiu has lived in seclusion with his family in Kuaiji for more than ten years, this thought has never stopped. Just like Yun Bofei, his lifelong pursuit is to honor his ancestors.
I stood up and helped Shen Yiqiu up and said: "Sir, please get up. As long as they have made contributions to our Song Dynasty, I will reward them. Shen Kuo's theory covers a wide range of topics and will surely benefit our dynasty and be passed down to generations. Sir, how much do you think about Master Shen Kuo Shen?" Do you understand the doctrine?"
Shen Yiqiu stood up and replied with some pride: "Back to the Emperor, I have been very fond of the ancestors' theories since I was a child. I have done research on all of my ancestors' "Mengxi Bi Tan". For this, I was scolded by my father for not doing my job properly, but... .. ..."
"Sir, don't worry. If you have anything to say, please tell me."
Shen Yiqiu blushed slightly and said, "I am only interested in part of the ancestors' teachings."
"Really, which parts?" I asked with some worry.
"Your Majesty, I am only interested in the ingenuity of physical arts, but I have not done any in-depth research on politics and military affairs."
After hearing this, I laughed loudly and said, "Okay, very good."
Shen Yiqiu asked in confusion: "Your Majesty?"
"The so-called skills have specializations. I don't know something. This kind of physical skills covers thousands of things. As long as it is well applied, it will be of great benefit to the country and the people. It is no less important than governing the country."
Shen Yiqiu received my admiration, as if he had found a confidant in his life. He could not conceal his inner joy and said excitedly: "Before meeting Quanjue, I once traveled all over the country, looking for teachers and friends, and told the stories of my ancestors. I confirmed them one by one. Later I came to Kuaiji and felt that this place was full of spiritual energy and that Quanjue and Laochan were on the right path, so I stayed there for a long time. During the few years here, Laochan taught Quanjue and at the same time studied the physical skills mentioned by his ancestors. Some of them were sorted out and corrected, and his own opinions were expanded into a book. Especially in the past two or three years, when Quanjue grew up, he put forward many suggestions on the doctrines in "Mengxi Bi Tan". With Quanjue's help, he I finally finished this book a few days ago and named it "Kuiji Bi Tan" after my ancestors. I hope that one day I can publish a book like my ancestors and pass it on to future generations."