Volume 1 Chapter 32: Smashing Heads (Part 1)
Furthermore, although Emperor Zhao did not make the important ministers too frightened this time, and even felt a sense of pleasant cooperation, in such a chaotic situation, even if the emperor and his ministers were of one mind, how easy would it be to appease tens of thousands of soldiers, especially the Western Army headquarters, where three thousand of them were dissatisfied with Liu Guangshi?
After an hour of trouble, the order of reward was finally spread throughout the army. After a burst of cheers, they started to quarrel over who should lead the army first and who should lead the army later. After Lu Haowen and Zhang Jun summoned the officers who were most active in the riot, Emperor Zhao seemed to have already rewarded all the guards. After a few instructions, he personally brought Yang Yi Zhong to the small camp on the top of the mountain.
However, before he arrived at the big tent in the middle, Zhao Jiu heard a commotion inside the tent, as if Lu and Zhang were unable to control the situation.
"Your Majesty!" Yang Yizhong was so anxious when he saw Zhao Jiu was about to step in that he just stepped sideways and blocked the other person.
"It doesn't matter. If they wanted to rebel, they would have done so long ago. They are making a fuss now either because they want more rewards or they want to flee to the south to avoid the war. They have no intention of dealing with me!" Zhao Jiu said calmly, then took a step forward and walked in between the two gatekeepers who had just received their rewards and were saluting in panic.
Yang Yizhong had no choice but to follow in fearfully.
Zhao Jiu was wearing a round-necked red robe, a hard-winged hat on his head, and a golden belt around his waist. As soon as he entered the tent, he felt a wave of heat rushing towards him.
The group of Western Army ruffians in the tent actually had some form at first, but because Lu Haowen had a good temper, Zhang Jun was young, and Qiao Zhongfu and Zhang Jing were preparing rewards downstairs, they had not yet arrived. So after several attempts, and with the instigation of others, the tent gradually became unbearable, and at this time they were in various forms.
But no matter what, when they suddenly saw a young man dressed like that enter, especially since many of them had seen this face before, this group of people instantly felt a chill coming from the tent door, and then they all lost their voices.
"According to the current military rules, one does not need to perform formalities when meeting the emperor?" Zhao Jiu fanned away the heat, sat down next to Lu Haowen who had hurriedly stood up, and then calmly asked.
After all, he was the legitimate emperor. Seeing this, the Western Army officers dared not talk nonsense anymore. Led by several experienced officers, they lined up according to their ranks and bowed to greet him.
"Please stand up." Zhao Jiu raised his hand to signal, but he only asked these people to stand up and did not intend to let them sit down.
Many officers looked at each other in shock, some who didn't know the ropes turned around to sit down, but then hurriedly turned back and stood still. However, this shock soon disappeared.
Because Emperor Zhao was sitting there, with a blank expression on his face, he spoke in a serious tone and got straight to the point:
"It's almost the New Year today, but it's not yet New Year. I'm only 21 years old. In normal times, I'm just a young man serving wine in the capital. It's only because the country has suffered such a great change that I have to become an official. So I really don't understand your twists and turns, and today I'll just speak frankly... Everyone, with the enemy at hand, what are you trying to do by making such a fuss? If you don't make it clear, how can I know your intentions? Is it because you were chased by the Jin people and hurriedly crossed the river, and lost your accumulated wealth? Or are you speaking up for Liu Guangshi? Or are you used to being frightened by the Jin people and don't want to join the army anymore?"
There was silence in the tent for a moment .
"Come one by one, none of them can escape." Zhao Jiu casually pointed at the person in front. He remembered that this person was threatening Zhang Jun when he just came in. "What's your name, what's your position, where are you from? Why are you stirring up trouble? Why are you unwilling to listen to the advice of the Prime Minister and the Chief Censor?"
"My name is Zhang Yongzhen!" This man was over thirty years old and extremely tall. When he bowed, the tattoos on his hands were exposed. He gritted his teeth and raised his head to speak. "I am currently a general under the command of Liu...Liu Taiwei of the Imperial Camp! I am from Longyou! This...this time there was a riot here, and I am the culprit. I was caught in the act. If the emperor wants to kill me or chop me up, I have nothing to say!"
"I asked you why you wanted to cause trouble, not who you wanted to kill or cut!" Zhao Jiu sat still, his expression unchanged. "Is it for money or Liu Guangshi, or are you afraid of the Jin people and just want to escape?"
"I...I have all kinds of reasons." Zhang Yongzhen was forced to do nothing but stiffen his neck and reply. "I was originally in Yan'an Prefecture, my wife and children were all here, and I had been in the army for more than ten years, and I had a rank of not too small, but the Jin invaders came a year ago and I was gone all of a sudden! I...I followed General Liu to Hebei and found the emperor's family. Since then, I have retreated all the way south, getting farther and farther away from home. I don't know what the west is like, whether the Jin invaders have entered Yan'an Prefecture, and whether my wife has abandoned the children and remarried? Anyway, I just retreated south, and the further I retreated south, the more worried I was! I finally saved some money by suppressing bandits, but I lost it all again this time I fled south! After crossing the river, only one night later, General Liu, who had followed me for a long time, was killed by the emperor... I didn't know where my future was, so I couldn't help but quarrel with the ministers and the ministers!"
"I understand." Zhao Jiu stared at the man, and was silent for a long time before speaking, but his tone was much softer. "In fact, I miss home too much. Before I killed Liu Guangshi last night, I dreamed about the past! But the situation is like this, what should I do if I really can't go back? And the matter of killing Liu Guangshi, in the final analysis, wasn't it because I missed home too much?"
Lu, Zhang, and Yang, who were standing beside Zhao Jiu in the tent, were all smart people. They thought about it. Although Zhang, who was about to kill Liu Guangshi, didn't know what was related to missing home, he could only bow his head after hearing the official's sincere tone.
"I understand what you mean." Zhao Jiu continued to speak with a slightly restrained expression. "You are homesick, you want money, and you want to speak up for Liu Guangshi... right?"
"Yes!" Zhang Yongzhen also came to his senses and admitted it with gritted teeth.
"Since you miss home, you don't mean to abandon your official position and flee south, right?" Zhao Jiu suddenly asked again. "You won't be frightened by the Jin people, right?"
"Of course!" Zhang Yongzhen responded immediately. "Although I am a little afraid of the Jin people, it is because I know that we cannot defeat them, not to the extent that the emperor wants us to."
"I understand. Please sit down." Zhao Jiu pointed casually, and Zhang Yongzhen, confused, finally sat down obediently on a seat in the tent.
But Emperor Zhao casually pointed at another person.
Just like this, there were as many as seventy or eighty officers in the account, with huge differences in rank. At first, some of them did not dare to show their anger in front of Zhao Jiu and kept admitting their mistakes. But later, seeing that this official was indeed sincere and there was nothing wrong with admitting it, they gradually spoke out their true feelings, giving various reasons.
Almost everyone had reasons for fleeing or losing their property while crossing the river. More than half admitted that they were speaking up for Liu Guangshi. Two or three percent mentioned that they missed their hometown in Guanxi. More than a dozen people admitted that they wanted some money to quit the army and settle down in the south. There were even a few people who said that they had been bachelors since birth and had not had a wife for decades. They heard that the emperor had granted them palace maids before, and they thought it would be best to ask the emperor for a wife, so they made a fuss.
In response to this, Zhao Jiu listened carefully throughout the whole process, but did not make any extra comments.
The process seemed cumbersome, but the conversation was simple and straightforward. By the time all seventy or eighty people had finished speaking and sat down, it only took a quarter of an hour .
"Let me tell you two things first." Zhao Jiu waited until everyone was seated before speaking. "Everyone wants money and goods, I have prepared them for you, and they are more generous than those for ordinary soldiers. When you go out later, you can all go to find Prime Minister Lu to lead you... This is what we agreed on before."
Led by Zhang Yongzhen, a group of officers were about to stand up and thank the emperor and the prime minister, but Zhao Jiu raised his hand to stop them: "Wait until I finish speaking... As for your wife, I won't hide it from you. There is no palace maid in Bagong Mountain now. The laundry is done by the eunuchs. If you don't believe me, you can go and see it after today. There is nothing to be shy about. So I can't agree to anything about your wife."
After hearing this, although there was no laughter in the tent, there was some relief.
"There are still those who plead for Liu Guangshi. I have already said it beforehand... I know Liu Guangshi is usually generous considerate, but in this case, I have absolutely no need to say anything. Whoever was unfair to him just now will go to Zhang Zhongcheng and receive ten military sticks!" Zhao Jiu suddenly became stern. "Otherwise, there will be no reward!"
The tent immediately became quiet. Many people looked at each other secretly, but no one dared to speak.
