Volume 1 Chapter 30 Ningguo
"I, Liu Guangshi, the military governor of the national army, come to see you. I didn't expect to see you again today after several months of separation! I was previously in Huaibei, being pursued by the Jin army, and was also ostracized by Zhang Jun and Wang Yuan. I almost thought that I would never see you again in this life!"
Unexpectedly, this late-night imperial meeting held by Emperor Zhao in the wild fields on Bagua Mountain with grief and indignation began with Liu Guangshi kneeling down and crying as soon as he appeared.
"Liu Qing..."
Under the firelight, even though Emperor Zhao was furious before, he couldn't help but feel a little confused at this moment. He wondered if Yang Yi Zhong had deliberately lied to favor Zhang Jun, and that he had misunderstood this veteran of the Western Army who was the same age as Han Shizhong.
However, he glanced at the two generals who were following Liu Guangshi and bowing from afar at the edge of the curtain , namely a commander named Fu Qing, and Wang De, nicknamed Wang Yasha, whom he had heard of a long time ago...but it was difficult for him to deny Yang Yizhong's report.
Helplessly, Zhao Jiu, who had just put on his clothes and sat on the armchair, adjusted himself a little, and then barely suppressed his emotions and asked again: "Mr. Liu, let's not talk about the Jin army. You said that you were excluded by General Zhang and General Wang... What's going on?"
"Your Majesty!" Liu Guangshi, who was fully armored, suddenly raised his head, revealing his face covered in mud, and it was difficult to see his features clearly, looking quite pitiful. "Good instructor, Your Majesty, you know... Yesterday, I received the order from Your Majesty in Cai, allowing me to split my troops and cross the Huai River for a rest. I am naturally grateful, and because the soldiers in our army were killed and wounded in large numbers by the Jin people, they are really unable to fight. Even if we stay in the city, people will be panicked, which is not conducive to defending the city. So I thought of asking Taiwei Wang (Wang Yuan, the commander of the imperial camp) and Taiwei Zhang (Zhang Jun) to make it convenient for me to lead some of the scattered soldiers to cross the river at night to calm the army..."
When Zhao Jiu heard this, he thought of the scene where he jumped into the river out of fear and couldn't help but nodded. In fact, by now Liu Guangshi seemed to have explained half of the matter of him sneaking across the river.
only……
"But why did they start a dispute, why did they want to rob the boat, and why did they burn the ferry?" Zhao Jiu frowned and asked no more.
"Reporting to the emperor!" Liu Guangshi immediately raised his head and pointed at Wang Yuan, the commander of the imperial camp, who also chose to kneel down. "The reason for the dispute is that Wang Yuan did not want me to lead the troops across the night!"
"Why isn't he allowed to cross the river at night?" Zhao Jiu continued to frown and asked like a tape recorder, but he was asking Wang Yuan.
"Reporting to the emperor!" Wang Yuan raised his head at this time, his face was covered with smoke and mud, even more colorful than Liu Guangshi's, but his words were filled with grief and indignation, and no one knew what he was suppressing. "Your Majesty..."
"Good instructor, I know!" At this moment, Liu Guangshi suddenly interrupted and continued to point at Wang Yuan and complained in tears. "General Wang has selfish motives! He has been responsible for many dignitaries and secretly transported money and goods to those dignitaries at night, so he is unwilling to transport troops for me! My subordinates were indignant and quarreled with General Wang's subordinates, which led to the chaos!"
Zhao Jiu was even more puzzled and could only continue to ask: "Where did all these dignitaries come from? Where did all the wealth come from that even requires a troop transport ship to transport it? Even if there was, they should have crossed the Huai River from Yingkou before. How could they still be in Huaibei now?"
"It was given by Zhang Jun." Liu Guangshi kowtowed and explained. "Your Majesty, you don't know that Zhang Taiwei had successfully suppressed bandits in Jingdong and Huaidong before... The rebels were rioting, and the military and state treasuries and the people's property were all seized by the rebels, and Zhang Taiwei took them calmly, so he hid countless treasures in Xiacai City, and this time he had long wanted to take them out to bribe the dignitaries in order to seek a future. But your Majesty had to leave after a few days, and he had no time to do so, so he asked Wang Taiwei to be the middleman, and sent countless treasures across the Huai River late at night, and handed them over to his old subordinate Yang Yizhong for distribution... As for my failure to restrain my subordinates who later became greedy when they saw the money and even seized the boats and burned the ferry, this is indeed my fault!"
Zhao Jiu had a blank expression on his face. He first looked back at Yang Yizhong who knelt down with a plop, then looked at Wang De and Fu Qing who stood at the edge of the curtain without saying a word, but finally looked at Wang Yuan:
"Wang Qing, what do you say? Did you transport the goods for Zhang Boying?"
"I...I...I really didn't know!" Wang Yuan hesitated for a long time, but gave an incredible answer. "When the rebellion broke out, I was transporting troops in the river, or maybe it was Huangfu Zuo, the inspector I left behind in Xiacai, who did it privately? As for after the rebellion, I was really incompetent. I couldn't control the fleet, and I couldn't put out the fire at the ferry. I could only flee in embarrassment... Today's crime is all due to my incompetence!"
Zhao Jiu tilted his head and thought for a while before he understood what Wang Yuan meant - Liu Guangshi pushed all the responsibility onto Zhang Jun, who was unable to cross the river to make a clear decision, and onto Commander Wang in front of him. For some reason, Commander Wang dared not deny it, nor take responsibility, so he pushed the responsibility onto a subordinate.
And without asking, Zhao Jiu could guess that Huangfu Zuo was probably stranded in Huaibei and would not be able to come over for a while.
Thinking of this, Emperor Zhao sneered, and glanced at Lü Haowen, Zhang Jun and others who had hurried here, and then stopped his gaze on another person: "Mr. Wang, you are the Prime Minister. Now the three generals Liu, Zhang, and Wang are having disputes with each other, and you are the only one who can settle their disputes. What do you think is going on?"
Wang Boyan took a step forward and came to the center of the tent. He maintained the dignity of a scholar-official and a prime minister. He neither knelt nor burst into tears, but that was all... He opened his mouth to speak, but when he met Zhao Jiu's cold smile, his heart skipped a beat and he almost immediately wanted to swallow the words he had prepared; but when he turned his head again, his eyes passed the three generals kneeling to Emperor Zhao and fell to the entrance of the tent behind him. He saw the figures of Wang De and Fu Qing, but in the end he did not dare to change his words.
Just like that, there was a long pause. Wang Shuxiang, who really didn't know what to say, just stood there like a block of wood, without saying a word. It was really funny.
Zhao Jiu sneered more and more, but did not say much. He just waited quietly, as if he had made up his mind to see if the other party could speak... However, maybe he had been waiting for this opportunity for a long time. At this moment, a young eunuch in the distance took the opportunity to lead another fully armored general into the tent, passing Wang De and Fu Qing.
The person who came was Hu Yantong, the deputy commander under Han Shizhong. After the incident in Shunchang Prefecture, this person had been leading his troops to stay by Zhao Jiu's side and was promoted to commander. Obviously, this was another arrangement similar to the Red Heart Team by Emperor Zhao, and he seemed to be taking the opportunity to expand his own direct guards.
Huyan Tong's hurried arrival immediately attracted the attention of everyone in the tent, but he did not say anything. Instead, he came directly to Zhao Jiu and bowed to present a document.
Emperor Zhao glanced at the seal of the document in the light of the fire, and immediately became serious. He opened it in public and began to read it on the armchair... With this action, everyone in the tent shifted their attention to the document. It was obvious that this should be the text sent by Han Shizhong who was quite far away.
However, I don’t know if it was an illusion, but although the emperor only took a moment to finish reading the letter and kept a faint smile on his face the whole time, the Chief Censor Zhang Jun, who was standing quite close to him, vaguely felt that the emperor’s hands were shaking slightly as he read the letter.
It can't be that he's frozen, right?
Something is going to happen!
In fact, when Zhao Jiu put down the documents and exhaled several long breaths, this was the instinctive reaction of many people.
"Let's stop here!" Zhao Jiu held the document, then suddenly narrowed his eyes and smiled at Wang Boyan. "I understand what Prime Minister Wang meant, thank you for your hard work!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Although Wang Boyan did not kneel down, he was in tears.
"I understand what Commandant Wang means." Zhao Jiufu turned his head and looked at Wang Yuan, who was lying on the ground in a state of embarrassment. "But you are so protective of Commandant Liu that you are willing to blame your own subordinates... Apart from a little public spirit, is there something else you cannot say?"
Before Wang Yuan could say anything, Liu Guangshi and the other people present were shocked, because Emperor Zhao's words seemed to put the blame on General Liu.
"Your Majesty..." Liu Guangshi opened his mouth to speak.
"I thought about it," Zhao Jiu raised his hand to stop Liu Guangshi's defense, and then he spoke thoughtfully as if talking to himself. "Han Shizhong once told me that he was a subordinate of your Wang Taiwei when he was fighting Fang La, and your Wang Taiwei was a subordinate of Liu Taiwei's father at that time... In other words, you and Han Shizhong are both former subordinates of Liu Yanqing! Liu Yanqing and our Liu Taiwei are both famous for inheriting the military family and being good at caring for soldiers... You are claiming to be a general of the Liu family, so you don't want to identify the son of your benefactor, and are willing to take the blame for him, right?"
Before Wang Yuan could speak, Liu Guangshi on the other side kowtowed repeatedly: "Your Majesty! I have no intention of colluding with the generals in the army! I just..."
"Liu Taiwei is so arrogant!" Zhao Jiu suddenly held the document with a cold expression. "You actually won't let me finish my words in my own place?!"
Liu Guangshi was startled for a moment, but quickly lowered his head and said nothing.
"I won't talk about your selfish motives tonight. As for your public motives tonight, it's nothing more than that you feel that Commander Liu is one step ahead of the others. Now Commander Zhang and his troops are trapped in Huaibei, while Commander Liu and his elite troops are everywhere in the imperial court." At this point, Zhao Jiu couldn't help but sneer again. "So for the sake of the overall situation, it's better to abandon Commander Zhang and follow Commander Liu, or simply worry that if you don't serve him well, Commander Liu will do the Chenqiao story again, and you will all become the Chai family's remaining ministers..."
"I am really terrified!" Liu Guangshi could no longer bear it and kowtowed repeatedly. "Your Majesty said that they were favored by my father and son, but my father and son have been favored by the emperor for generations! This time..."
"If you dare to interrupt me again, I will think you want to take this rotten chair!" Zhao Jiu and Liu Guangshi spoke at almost the same time. "If you want to talk, come up with a knife and chase me away!"
This time, General Liu was completely speechless and fell to the ground.
"Prime Minister Wang said nothing, Grand Commandant Wang was full of filth, my guards secretly pulled my clothes and told me not to get angry, and Minister Lu and Minister Zhang repeatedly winked at me, urging me to slow down... I understand everyone's public sentiment, isn't it because they are afraid that if they push too far, Grand Commandant Liu will rebel, and today Bagong Mountain will become the place where the Song Dynasty will perish?" Zhao Jiu finally finished his words. "Everyone in the tent today clearly knows this, why are you hiding it?"
As soon as the voice fell, there was a sudden sound of armor leaves at the edge of the curtain in the distance, which made everyone extremely nervous. In the strange silence, the sound of wind and fire merged, and almost everyone wanted to speak, but no one had the courage to speak. Even Liu Guangshi looked up several times in panic, but he didn't dare to speak several times.
"Wang Qing! Was that you just now?"
It was Zhao Jiu who broke the silence, with a slight movement in his heart.
"Not a minister!" Wang Yuan responded in embarrassment.
"I'm not calling you." Zhao Jiu suddenly raised his voice. "Wang De Wang Yasha standing by the curtain! Can you hear me? I'm calling you!"
Wang De, with a full beard and a face that looked like a yaksha, was stunned for a moment, but still hurried forward and came to the campfire to bow his head in salute.
"Come forward!" Zhao Jiu waved but was unable to do so. "Don't bow, I have something to ask you."
Wang De became more and more confused, but he still obediently walked around the two generals on the ground, came to Zhao Jiu's side, and bowed his head again.
"Do you recognize me?" Zhao Jiu turned to Wang De and pointed his finger at the tip of his nose.
"I recognize you!" Wang De answered blankly. "I have seen you in Hebei and Nanjing."
"That's not what I meant..." Zhao Jiu laughed in relief. "I'm asking you, who am I?"
Wang De became more and more confused: "The government is naturally the government!"
"Who has higher authority, the emperor or the general?" Zhao Jiu continued to ask with a smile amid the rough voices of Yang Yizhong behind him and Lu Haowen, Zhang Jun and others beside him.
"Of course the emperor is more powerful!" Wang De replied, but couldn't help but add, "But emperor, Liu Taiwei really has no intention of rebellion, he is just timid and easily gets into trouble..."
Zhao Jiu nodded, seemingly unconcerned: "It's good that Wang Qing knows that I am older than the Grand Commandant... I have another question for you. When Wang Qing was stationed in Xuzhou before, did he encounter the Jin army before the retreat, or after the retreat? What was the approximate number of the main force of the Jin army behind? Was it 100,000 , or 20,000 or 30,000?"
At the end of his words, Zhao Jiu almost gritted his teeth, and the several civil and military officials standing around were all stunned. Even Yang Yizhong and Wang Yuan, who were kneeling, looked up in shock. Without waiting for Wang De to reply, Liu Guangshi on the ground suddenly kowtowed repeatedly.
Zhao Jiu saw this scene and couldn't help laughing in his heart, but he simply raised his hand to signal: "Wang Qing, you don't have to answer. Go and invite Commander Fu."
The whole place was in silence, and after Wang De left the throne in a daze, he hurried to the tent and brought Fu Qing, who was also in full armor... Fu Qing was no match for a rough man like Wang De, or it could be said that Wang De was probably the only one in the tent who was a confused idiot, otherwise he would not have been startled by Emperor Zhao's explicit words and made the armor plates ring.
But then again, Commander Fu, being dragged by this bastard, didn't have to think twice and just followed him to the emperor to pay his respects.
"Fu Qing is a new surrenderer, and all he wants is fame, fortune and power... right?" When facing Fu Qing, Zhao Jiu changed his rhetoric.
"minister……"
"You don't have to answer, just listen!" Zhao Jiu said in the armchair. "It is said that Liu Taiwei and his son are good at caring for their soldiers. To be fair, I can't do that. But I am at my wits' end and can still control Liu Taiwei, which shows that my capital is still thicker than his Liu family... Since Fu Qing is doing business, why not sell yourself to me instead of selling yourself to the Liu family? I can give you what he can give you, and I can also give you what he can't give you!"
"I will die for your sake!" Liu Guangshi could no longer bear it and suddenly shouted. "Your Majesty! I really have no other intentions!"
"I know you didn't!" Zhao Jiu said from a distance. "Otherwise you should have spoken up to stop me when I called Wang De over."
Liu Guangshi felt half of his body go limp in an instant, and he just fell to the ground and said, "It's enough for the emperor to know me! If you take away my military power this time, I will never say anything!"
"Please help me hold General Liu's hands." Zhao Jiu ignored them and turned back to look at Fu Qing and Wang De.
Wang De was stunned for a moment and obviously hesitated, but Fu Qing quickly jumped out, and just before Liu Guangshi was about to stand up, he pushed the man with his legs from behind, and then easily took him down by handcuffing his hands behind his back.
Liu Guangshi was restrained and could only shout: "Your Majesty! I have no intention of treason! Please forgive me!"
Now it was Wang De's turn to be frightened, but after a while, under the gaze of the official, this brave general nicknamed Wang Yasha finally stepped forward hesitantly and took Liu Guangshi's already limp hand from Fu Qing.
Seeing this, Zhao Jiu finally stood up, turned his head and looked around, and then took a shiny steel knife from Yang Yizhong who was still kneeling.
Liu Guangshi became more and more frightened, and tears streamed down his cheeks. He also started to talk nonsense: "Your Majesty! Please let your Majesty know! Although my actions this time are serious, I was trying to figure out your intentions! I have always known that your Majesty wanted to go to Jiangnan, and when I saw your decree that I could leave, I thought it was your hint, so I fabricated the 100,000 Jin troops..."
"I believe in you, Mr. Liu." Zhao Jiu came over with a knife in hand, without stopping. "But I changed my mind a long time ago and don't want to go to Jiangnan anymore!"
"I really don't know whether the emperor is going to fight with Zhang and Han for real, and I really have no intention of treason..." Liu Guangshi continued to defend himself, but suddenly he saw the shadow of a knife reflecting on his head, and he could no longer make a sound.
"Your Majesty!" At the critical moment, Lü Haowen and Zhang Jun looked at each other, and then they stepped out together. Then Prime Minister Lü spoke first. "Since things have come to this, why not take away his military power and deal with it calmly? How can your Majesty personally draw a knife to kill a dignified general? Where is the national system?"
"Your Majesty." Zhang Jun also bowed his head and advised carefully. "I also think that Liu Guangshi should die, but the situation is dangerous now, and the danger of national destruction is not an empty talk. Your Majesty should put the overall situation first and not easily lose people's hearts."
Zhao Jiu had no time to pay attention to these people, because he had been wielding a knife behind the armored Liu Guangshi for a long time, but he still didn't know how to start. Helpless, the official could only turn around and ask the know-it-all Yang Sheren: "Zhengfu, how should we start now?"
Yang Yizhong had already been stunned. When he was suddenly asked, he blurted out: "Have you ever seen a chicken being killed? Can we kill it like a chicken now..."
As soon as he finished speaking, Yang Yizhong regretted it... Firstly, he really shouldn't get involved in such matters; secondly, he suddenly realized that the official had never seen what it looked like to kill a chicken.
However, after hearing this, Emperor Zhao no longer hesitated. He just leaned over, grabbed the helmet tassel of Liu Guangshi, who was already frightened and out of control, with his left hand, and took the knife with his right hand to cut the exposed Adam's apple of the other party... The movement was so skillful, as if he had really killed a chicken before.
After one strike of the knife, there was no more sound in the curtain.
Wang De and Fu Qing loosened their hands, looked at each other, and stood there in silence. Only Liu Guangshi was holding his throat and thrashing on the ground, making some noise, and his struggle looked like that of a chicken with its throat cut.
Emperor Zhao held the bloodstained steel knife in his hand and watched for a while. When the person on the ground stopped moving and he felt relaxed all over, he threw away the steel knife and turned around to answer his prime minister and the chief censor loudly:
"I would rather perish than kill this man with my own hands!"
