Chapter 595 The meaning is the same
The next morning, the emperor didn't even want Xie Wuhui to accompany him, and asked her to stay in Huaxi to look after the empress dowager. He took his two wives in a brand new carriage and headed straight for the South Gate Wharf.
The senators from the Ministry of Rites had already prepared the official ship. The tall and handsome sailors on the ship came down and politely received them on board. They provided service in an orderly manner, which made the emperor feel particularly comfortable, as if he was a prisoner being released.
When the senator saw the emperor standing at the bow of the ship with his hands behind his back and smiling as he admired the scenery along the coast, he said with a smile: Mr. Zhao, please feel free to have fun and eat. I will do my best to take care of everything.
The emperor waved his hand and thanked him with a smile, saying happily that he had no other ideas and just wanted to come out for some fresh air and see the King of Feiyan and his lovely grandson.
The senator immediately said: That's great, don't worry, everything will be fine.
The emperor was willing to be a submissive citizen and left the empress dowager in Huaxi without taking her out. The old senator felt much more relieved and was happy.
When the senators of the Ministry of Rites heard that serving the emperor and the empress dowager was like being locked in a cage of poisonous snakes, they all retreated, fearing that it would be their turn. Shangshu Li Liang had no choice but to invite the old senator who had served the emperor to come out to perform his duties, and promised him that if he was ready, he would be promoted to a higher level and retire in the future.
Zhishi means that an official has reached retirement age. Zhao Yulin has not used this term for a long time, but it means the same thing.
When Old Lady Xie saw the emperor leaving with his two wives without even looking at her, she couldn't help but feel sad. The old nanny persuaded her: There are still many people in the courtyard. The emperor said that as long as the master doesn't mention the royal family, there will be no worries about his life. It is absolutely safe not to step out of the gate of the villa.
Old Mrs. Xie sobbed and asked her: What’s the difference between this and house arrest?
What’s the difference between this and being captured and taken to the desert to work as cattle and horses?
The palace maids on both sides became more and more angry as they listened. If it weren't for the old woman's trouble, they could have followed the emperor out to see the scenery, eat delicious food and drink spicy drinks, and live a happy life.
These officials went to the flower hall in the front yard to have tea one by one. The eunuch who was close to the emperor took out the Emei Snow Bud and happily asked everyone to sit down and taste the tribute tea that had just been sent by Princess Zhidi.
The attendants and maids around the Empress Dowager looked at the emerald green tea soup with envy and were intoxicated by the fragrance of the tea.
The attendant said proudly: We are going to appoint a manager for this courtyard. Princess Zhidi has given an oral instruction: Let the Queen draft a memorial to the Ministry of Rites, and our salaries will be raised by one level.
The old maid and the attendants were holding their teacups and whispering, thinking that they were being dragged down by the Empress Dowager, and had no chance, and only five strings of cash to live.
The emperor's attendant drank tea and said that he had been in the city several times. The new Song court was very different from the Lin'an period. Everyone walked with their heads held high, unlike us who bowed and kowtowed.
The emperor doesn't want us to be so gracious, and is talking about the New Song Republic and equality for all. But don't follow the empress dowager's foolishness and ruin the rest of your life.
We are all people who have walked back and forth across the grasslands and deserts at the risk of our lives.
The attendants around the empress dowager kept nodding and told them that many of the officials who had returned along the way had accepted official positions at the court and had never talked about restoring the old system. They had bought houses in the city and settled down, and were living a comfortable life.
The emperor's attendants glanced towards the house where the empress dowager lived and said that it was all the trouble caused by that side, otherwise we would have everything we want and the yard would be very lively.
The old maid complained: That's right, the third young master has prepared servants here. The Queen Mother is afraid that they are spies sent by the third young master to monitor them. We are not needed at all. We are so tired.
How could Zhao Yulin know that these old palace officials from the previous dynasty were talking about his good deeds and were now talking with Miao Gui and Yang Xingyun in Shunzhidi's office?
Miao Gui dragged Yang Xingyun back and went straight to him and Zhidi to tell them that he was incompetent and unqualified to be the deputy director, and asked them to withdraw their decision. Yang Xingyun also said that he was not worthy of being the Minister of War, and that the Shandong army had recently suffered a defeat in Hejian Prefecture, and he would ask the King and the Third Young Master to punish him.
Shunzhidi smiled and asked the maid to serve tea, and asked the two elder brothers to have a sip of tea before talking. It would not be good to give Brother Yulin difficult questions at once, so let's do them one by one.
Shunzhidi's joking mediation made the two of them feel embarrassed. They reflected on their mistakes while drinking tea and had no intention of making things difficult for the third young master.
Zhao Yulin first talked about Yang Xingyun. It was good to know that he could not escape the blame for the rebellion in Hejian Prefecture, but he could not blame himself for everything. How about this, he should first perform the duties of the Minister of War as the Deputy Envoy of the Ministry of War, and then become the Chief Envoy after the King's assessment after two years?
He looked at Zhidi, then at Miao Gui and Yang Xingyun.
Yang Xingyun wanted to refuse, but Shunzhidi said seriously: You can't postpone it anymore. If you do, it will mean you are doubting the decision of the Central Council, which is taboo.
Xingyun immediately became timid, looked at Shunzhidi and said cautiously: I will obey the orders of the king.
Zhao Yulin wanted to laugh after seeing this, and said to Miao Gui while drinking tea: Brother, you are not young anymore, so you should stop running around in the wind and rain. The court has established the Privy Council, and you will be the deputy director of the Council and concurrently the Privy Councilor, and you will be dedicated to the military system and reform of our New Song Dynasty.
Shunzhidi went on to say that Brother Miao had made great military achievements and had made great contributions. The New Song Dynasty did not have rewards such as titles of kingship and fiefdoms like the previous dynasty. The officials unanimously recommended Brother Miao to be the vice-king, but it was just a treatment for Brother Miao. The Central Council had already decided, so why was Brother still refusing?
Miao Gui immediately agreed with great trepidation to prepare for the establishment of the Privy Council.
He laughed and said: That's right, the small building on the right side of the Central Council has been cleaned up and named No. 10, or Privy Council No. 10. It will directly make decisions on military and national affairs for the king. The new Song Dynasty will rely on you two in the future.
Miao Gui and Yang Xingyun immediately stood up, bowed to them, and vowed to serve them until their death.
Shunzhidi said happily: I beg you two brothers, please don’t be so sour, I can’t stand it.
Zhao Yulin burst into laughter when he heard what he said. The two generals looked at each other in bewilderment and both responded with "yeah".
In Daxing Prefecture, Hebei, Mengge and Hubili were also discussing the reorganization of the army. This time, Mengge brought another 50,000 elite soldiers from Hebei to strengthen his royal guards.
Da Mengge and Hubili weighed the pros and cons again and again and decided that the New Song Kingdom in the south was indeed too powerful and that they needed to be patient and keep a low profile.
But the Goryeo Kingdom in the east was weak, so they decided to hold the south and attack the east, completely conquering the Goryeo Kingdom and forming a stable rear base for the empire.
Mengge decided to mobilize his imperial army to lead the army in person, and make Goryeo willingly submit to him. The various departments of the grassland royal court quickly adjusted their positions. Mengge still used his traditional army of ten thousand men, thousand men, and centurions to organize troops, and planned to mobilize 100,000 troops to conquer Goryeo in one go.
However, this top secret was soon known to the Shenwei Army's subordinates.
The Shi family army in Hebei is not a monolithic entity, especially its middle and lower-level generals are not all direct descendants of the Shi family. The soldiers and generals who have been excluded and suppressed and serve as cannon fodder and death squads have a scale in their hearts, weighing the differences between the Mongolian army and the Shenwei army.
They knew that the Shenwei Army emphasized equality for all and unity between officers and soldiers. As long as they were honest and brave in battle, they would have the opportunity to be rewarded and promoted after making meritorious contributions. At least they would be respected in the army and have a full meal.
But it was different for the Shi family army. The higher they climbed, the harder it would be if they were not direct descendants of the Shi family. Those who were injured and had missing limbs would be abandoned. When they returned to their hometown, no one would take care of them and they could only become beggars and wander around.
Therefore, these generals accidentally leaked the news that the Mongolian army was going to march east to Goryeo during a drinking and complaining, and the news soon reached the Shunfengsi headquarters in Chengdu.
After receiving the news, Yang Xingyun and Miao Gui thought it was a godsend opportunity. They could order the Shenwei Army to advance into Daxing Prefecture to recapture Youzhou which had been lost for many years. The two of them immediately went to Zhao Yulin to discuss the matter.
After reading the intelligence, he also thought that this was a rare opportunity, so he secretly ordered Feng Guiqi to actively plan and prepare.
At the same time, Zhao Yulin felt that Hubili had been deeply rooted in Daxing Prefecture for a long time, and it would be difficult for the Shenwei Army to attack the city with its strong walls. He could consider making a feint to the east and attacking Yunzhou in Datong Prefecture in the west.
Yang Xingyun and Miao Gui disagreed with this. They believed that after leaving Yanmen, the troops would enter the hilly grassland, just like the battle in Linzhou, exposing the troops to the attack of enemy cavalry, which was very dangerous.
Zhao Yulin nodded and said with a smile: We have now developed a powerful weapon to restrain the enemy cavalry, so we are not afraid of the sudden attack of the Mongolian cavalry at all.
The two of them were surprised, but they calmed down immediately and asked him curiously what kind of weapon it was that could suppress the Mongolian cavalry?
Zhao Yulin asked them to send a war preparation order to the border and then go to Hongmeng Valley to have a look. It should be done. The two war god-level generals nodded in surprise and left in a hurry.
The brothers Miao Gui and Yang Xingyun came to the Hongmeng Valley in Xinshi excitedly. They were surprised to see the newly-organized machine gun company. Especially after the machine gun fired a burst of shots and checked the target, they found that the straw man standing on the ground two miles away was knocked down by the gun, and the three layers of leather wrapped on the body were pierced.
The machine gun company commander reported: This is still a long-range projectile. If it is a close-range direct shot, both the people and horses will have their arms and legs broken and be dismembered.
The two of them naturally knew how powerful this machine gun was.
Damn, a burst of projectiles from a long distance can cripple the cavalry that is in concentrated formation. If there are ten or a hundred such machine guns on the position firing bullets, the enemy cavalry will not be able to charge at all.
The two brothers were overjoyed and immediately went home, went straight to Zhao Yulin's house and said excitedly: Brother, you told me earlier that with heavy machine guns, we have nothing to be afraid of.
However, Zhao Yulin said with a serious face: In a war, how can we be careless and underestimate the enemy.
Besides, the machine guns had just been invented and there were only a few of them.
However, the two lunatics on the battlefield said: That's enough, two machine guns can withstand the enemy's cavalry attack, and we also have killing weapons such as iron barrel cannons, catapults, and mortars, it will definitely work.
Zhao Yulin nodded, knowing that they would coordinate firepower, and told them to prepare well, and to seize the opportunity to strike them with a hammer.
An idea suddenly flashed through Miao Gui's mind, and he asked him: The Mongolian army launched a large-scale attack on Goryeo, and Goryeo has been forced to retreat to an island to avoid the war. If it can't hold on this time, it may surrender to the grassland empire.
How do we respond?
