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  What are you admiring about me? Chen Ke asked in surprise. Having been in the Song Dynasty for many years, he had fully understood the value orientation of this world: 'all things are inferior, only reading books is superior'.

  Although he had made many inventions and come up with many ideas, even in the small county of Qing Shen, only the common people who yearned to escape poverty would buy into them. Those pedantic scholars who shook their heads and wagged their tongues didn't put him in their sights, even if they were penniless.

  Liáng had long since pointed out to Chen Kè that in order to win the respect of mainstream society, one must either have exceptional talent in poetry and literature; or have profound knowledge, making innovative contributions to classical studies; or pass the imperial examination and become a successful official.

  At least for now, Chen Ke doesn't have any of these three qualities, so in the eyes of the county's scholars, he is just a weirdo who doesn't behave properly and hangs out with people from lower social classes all day. What respect can be expected? However, Chen Ke couldn't care less about those idiots' evaluations. He has never sought to make a name for himself or become rich; he just wants to live a comfortable life, so he has always ignored those sarcastic voices... Let others talk while I walk my own path!

  So when he heard that a bookworm admired himself, and the one who said this was Su Shi, Chen Ke's first reaction was surprise: "What do I have to admire?"

  "How can Third Brother be so modest?" Su Shi exclaimed, his face flushed with excitement as he grasped Chen Ke's hand. "Isn't the purpose of scholars becoming officials to bring benefits to the people? You haven't even taken office yet, and you've already brought blessings to the common folk of Qingtian County - this is truly a remarkable feat!" The two men were close in age, with Chen Ke being only two months older than Su Shi.

  "Hmm..." Chen Ke smiled and said, "It seems to make some sense."

  "It's not just some reason, it's the right reason!" Su Dongpo exclaimed excitedly: "Quickly tell me, how did you think of those ideas!"

  "It's just a small trick." Chen Ke shook his head and smiled.

  "Soy sauce, stir-frying techniques, lotus charcoal, Huangjiu wine... and even the 'Yiguanzhengqi' you designed, every single one of them has changed people's lives. How can that be considered a small skill?" Su Shi countered: "Moreover, I've found that everything you do is to help others, so they can live a good life. This is what the sages called 'benevolence'!"

  Chen Ke is so stupid, he doesn't even consider himself a brainless fan of Su Dongpo, but Su Dongpo has become his own brainless fan, what's going on here?

  "Second brother, we have to go, or else we'll be discovered."

  "Alas..." Su Shi suddenly remembered his situation and nodded gloomily, reluctant to part: "Will you still be staying at home for a few more days?"

  "Let's have sister take Zhenwu decoction for three doses, at least it will be fine in three days."

  "But you come to talk to me every day." Su Shi pulled his hand, as if he had made a difficult decision: "You wait a minute." He walked to the bedside, took out a palm-sized object from under the pillow, carefully wrapped it in a handkerchief, and handed it to Chen Ke: "Third brother, this thing is given to you to play with, to commemorate our first meeting!"

  Su Zhe was about to speak on the border but stopped and ended up with a helpless bitter smile.

  "Thank you!" In this era, it was impolite to unwrap someone else's gift in front of them. Chen Ke felt the weight of it and thought it should be a inkstone. He wasn't one for pretenses, so he accepted it readily and said: "I came in a hurry, I didn't have time to prepare a gift for you, maybe next time."

  Su Shi was initially a bit embarrassed, but seeing that he didn't hesitate or push back, he knew this was a straightforward and generous person. Suddenly feeling like he had drunk fine wine, he couldn't help but say: "Then I'll be waiting for Third Brother's gift!"

  Su Zhan was dizzy from watching them on one side, what kind of people are these two! They're really a pair of living treasures...

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  Su Zhan was actually being overly cautious. The older generation were busy drinking and chatting, with a posture of fighting a battle at night, where would they have the energy to care about them?

  At that time, Su Xun sat in the host seat, Song Fu and **** Liang Zhao Mu sat, Chen Chen Gan accompanied the end of the seat... Of course, there is no share for him to speak here, his main job is to be an audience and serve tea.

  Tonight, several people are very excited... Su Jia's little sister being rescued is secondary, the main thing is that a scourge has died.

  The scourge's name was Li Yuanhao. The founding king of Western Xia, the arch-nemesis who made the Song people uneasy in their sleep and food, has actually died this time...... It is said 'actually' because he would be killed a dozen times every year in rumors.

  But this time, it's for real...

  A generation of heroes who dominate the world will always die in a shameful way after being overly inflated, and Yuan Hua is an example. To say that he absolutely brought it upon himself.

  In the fourth month of last year, Yuan Huan, as the Taizi Ning Lingge, married the Taizi Fei Mieyi.

  Mei's beauty was unmatched, and even Li Yuanhao, who had seen countless women, was deeply moved. The Western Xia king, who had been a bandit all his life, would always take possession of the things he liked, no matter what they were, even if it was his own daughter-in-law.

  Then Taizi Ning Lingke, after a night, the nightmare of his wife turning into his stepmother. Before that, his two uncles, Ye Lixian and Ye Liwangrong, who held the power of Western Xia, were beheaded by their father, King Li Yuanhao, under the pretext of General Zhong Shiheng's rebellion from the Song Dynasty. His mother, Empress Ye Li, was also deposed last year...

  The resentment of robbing his wife, disabling his mother and killing his uncle finally led Ning Ling to explode. He did not tolerate it like the son of Tang Xuanzong, but rather, under the 'support' of Guo Shi, he made up his mind to assassinate his father!

  In the eighth year of Qingli, on the first day of the Lunar New Year, Taizi Ning ordered his brother to take advantage of the relaxed guards during the lantern festival in the palace. He snuck into Yuanhao's bedroom with a dagger and found Yuanhao drunk. Although Yuanhao was alert in time, he was slow to react and had his nose cut off by one slash!

  The tyrant who cut off the noses of thousands and millions of people, never thought that one day he would be cut off by his own son.

  Seeing the king's face turn into a bloody gourd, Ning Lingge also became timid, threw away his knife and took advantage of the guards' confusion to rush out of the palace and hide in the prime minister's house. Unexpectedly, not only did the emperor not fulfill his promise to help him ascend to the throne, but he immediately had him captured and killed.

  Yuán Huáng and his son both fell into the trap of being overly favored.

  No explanation, here is the translation:

  Mei Cang was originally the younger brother of Ning Liang's uncle, and later became his father's younger brother... After Yuan Huan killed the Ye Li brothers, he coveted Mei Cang's beauty, so he ordered her to become a nun and secretly kept in touch with her. Mei Cang gave birth to a son named Chao Suo last year, and Yuan Huan had him raised by his younger brother Mei Cang Ao.

  Because of this relationship, Weizheng didn't become the Prime Minister of Western Xia until later. After his nephew was born, he and his sister had been plotting to overthrow Ning Lige and install Zongzhao as the crown prince. As a close minister of Yuanhao, he naturally saw through his lust for his daughter-in-law, so he boldly devised a vicious plan: on one hand, he instigated Yuanhao to take away the wife of Crown Prince Ning Lige; on the other hand, he incited Ning Lige to get rid of Yuanhao and promised to make him emperor.

  The abacus of good fortune was struck loudly without any hidden intentions——regardless of whether Ning Lingge succeeded or failed, he would be put to death for the crime of regicide and patricide, and his nephew Li Liangzuo would become the first heir to the throne of Western Xia.

  To ensure success, he used his power to temporarily remove the guards guarding the palace, allowing Ning Lingke to sneak into the heavily guarded bedroom to commit the crime. And when Ning Lingke was able to escape, it was also thanks to him secretly helping out.

  The success of the plan cannot be separated from luck, coinciding with the Meng family's luck being number one in the world, even the most absurd strategy would have been a great success. Ning Lingge cut off Yuan Huan's nose and escaped to his home. What else was there to hesitate about? Meng Zong immediately framed him for treason and had him executed, thoroughly clearing himself of any connection.

  The next morning, another great joy came - Li Yuanhao had lost too much blood and died at dawn. Without hiding his intentions, he immediately dominated the court - Li Yuanhao's only son was his nephew, so how could others compete with him? So he enthroned Li Gao as emperor, welcomed back his sister from the temple to be empress dowager, and had the deposed Empress Weili killed, completely taking control of Western Xia.

  After doing all this, the Western Xia dynasty sent a minister to the Song dynasty to report the mourning, and the Song dynasty only knew that the Western Xia had undergone a change of heaven and earth - for the literary government that did not like knives and guns, this was simply a blessing from the gods! The imperial court immediately offered sacrifices to the ancestral temple, thanking their ancestors for their protection, and removing Yuanhao, this great hidden danger, and burying the cause of disaster for the Western Xia dynasty.

  Although it was not suitable for a grand celebration due to the short time since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, the imperial court still declared a general amnesty and changed the year to Huangyou the following year.

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  "Although it's not a pleasant revenge, but it's good for Yuan Hua that scoundrel!" Su Xun, slightly drunk, slapped the table and said: "The court should immediately raise a large army, take advantage of his illness to take his life, and recover our northwest border!"

  "If we really want to send troops to Western Xia," Song Fu said excitedly, "I am willing to lay down my pen and take up arms, and I am happy to be a small soldier under the vanguard!"

  "......" Only **** was silent and didn't make a sound.

  The two men looked at him strangely and said: "The Great Song has a chance to recover its lost territory, aren't you happy?"

  "I thought the imperial court would not fight this battle." ****Liang shook his head and said.

  "How can you boost someone else's morale while destroying your own prestige?" Su Xun said displeased: "The principle that heaven gives but does not take, and must bear the blame, Gong Bo won't not understand, right?!"

  "I would love to destroy Western Xia tomorrow if I could." Now, **** Liang has become much more mature than three years ago. He calmly analyzed: "But I think there are three reasons why the imperial court cannot be attacked."

  "What three cannot be beaten?"

  "The failure of the Qingli New Deal led to the expulsion of Fan Gong and Fu Gong. The court's financial problems and military equipment issues not only failed to be resolved, but instead worsened, which is one reason.

  Liang Tiarui said clearly: "The current officials and prime ministers are probably not thinking of fighting this battle, otherwise, why would they celebrate the death of Yuan Huan with such caution? Isn't it because they're afraid of provoking Western Xia? This is the second reason. As for the third, last month the court just quelled the rebellion of Wang Zhen in Bei State, and now Nong Zhigao is eyeing Guangnan West Road... Now is not the beginning of the dynasty, the court does not dare to start a national war when internal troubles are not settled and preparations are insufficient."

  Although deeply disappointed, Su Xun and Song Fu still had to admit that ** said it made sense, but was extremely disappointed: "Gong Bian, can't you just accept your fate? This doesn't seem like your personality..."

  "On the contrary!" **Liang shook his head, his eyes fixed firmly: "Incompetent governance, a nation's regret. It is precisely when our generation knows shame and strives to be strong that one day, we will lead the Great Song to raise an army of millions, sweep across the Yellow River Basin, and trample the Helan Mountains!"

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  Today's update is coming soon, and Sanjiang will be over soon. I'm asking for a burst of Cat Uncle, hehe, he won't get angry...