Volume 1 Chapter 34 Public and Private
"I'm really stupid, really."
Lu Haowen stood in the small village on the top of the mountain, with his hands clasped in front of him, looking far away at a gentle slope on the southern waist of Bagong Mountain. There was obviously a trace of sadness in his serious expression...
Over there, in a place that Lü Haowen couldn't see completely, in front of a row of wooden poles with human heads on them, the Emperor of Zhao Song was sitting still in armor. Behind the Emperor, separated by wooden poles and human heads, were sixty or seventy Western Army officers who had been beaten with military sticks and were holding rewards, standing still. On both sides were two hundred fully armored imperial guards. Emperor Zhao was sitting there with this lineup, silently supervising the distribution of rewards to the entire army.
"I thought the emperor would stop after killing Liu Guangshi yesterday, but I didn't expect he would be so brutal today!" After watching for a long while, Prime Minister Lu, who felt that the place was in good order, was unwilling to turn back, but continued to complain to himself.
The Chief Censor standing behind Prime Minister Lu, that is, Zhang Jun Zhang Deyuan, wanted to remain silent upon hearing this, but for some reason, perhaps what happened in the past few days also seriously stimulated him, so the Chief Censor could not help but:
"Why is Prime Minister Lu deceiving himself? The emperor's behavior had already foreshadowed the situation. When we were standing in front of the emperor's tent at noon today, not only you and I, but also Prime Minister Wang and the others had guessed it... but there was nothing you and I could do!"
This time it was Lu Haowen's turn to remain silent.
Zhang Jun, who had broken the dignity and concealment of an elite scholar-official with his words, took advantage of the fact that no one was around to be completely reckless: "Now there are four important ministers. Prime Minister Wang and General Wang have already suffered a huge setback in Mingdao Palace. Although they have gradually recovered a little in the past few days due to Prime Minister Li (Li Gang) falling ill, they are completely incompetent after what happened last night. They even have to be careful when they are submissive to the emperor! And I have achieved success at a young age, all thanks to the emperor's promotion. If it weren't for the emperor's strong support, I'm afraid I wouldn't even be able to hold the position of Zhongcheng, and I would have been dealt with by any prime minister long ago! Only you, Prime Minister Lu..."
"What about me?" Lu Haowen turned back helplessly, looking dejected. "I was also dealt with by Li Xianggong that day. I almost left the imperial court that day and had nothing to do with the central government. If it weren't for the emperor's fall into trouble and his change of heart, I would have needed an experienced Xianggong..."
"Let's not talk about the time when you fell into the well. Just say that you, Prime Minister Lu, are not only the only prime minister of the East Palace here, but also a Taoist scholar from a prime minister's family and a world-renowned scholar. If there is anyone here who can stop the emperor a little, it can only be you, Prime Minister Lu." Zhang Jun's words were sincere, and he actually wanted to persuade Lu Haowen to step forward.
"Why should I care about my position as a minister?" Lü Haowen was forced to express his opinion. "If the country was safe and everyone was fighting for power, I would have given up this position long ago and become a prefect, then resigned gracefully and stayed at home to run academic affairs. But now, isn't the country in danger? The Jin people are on the other side of the river, and the situation is precarious. As long as the emperor and the emperor are not safe, I will not abandon the central government!"
Zhang Jun was speechless for a moment... But how could he not know that this was exactly the government's strategy? It was to bully Mr. Lu, a moral gentleman who was easy to bully. Otherwise, it would be too unfair for Xu Da, who was going to Huaidong to deal with things behind his back, to get involved in Zhang Shuxiang!
"The emperor's original intention was to set up a small situation in Shouzhou, so that a small number of the main forces of the Jin army would come here and defend it. He didn't want to annihilate the enemy, nor did he want to win a big victory or a small victory. As long as the Jin army was exhausted and retreated on its own, it would let the world know that the Jin army was not invincible and our army was not incapable of fighting. It would slightly boost morale and make people feel at ease!" After a long pause, Zhang Jun finally spoke, but took the initiative to defend Zhao Jiu. "The original intention was not to kill Liu Guangshi last night and kill the deserter today!"
"What's the difference?" Lu Haowen was getting more and more frustrated. "The country has fallen to this point, can it be fixed overnight? Not to mention that Shouzhou can no longer be defended, even if Liu Guangshi didn't happen, Shouzhou was still defended, so what? If it is defended, the morale of the people will certainly be improved, but if the Jin army goes back and prepares a large army, can it still be defended with 100,000 troops? The country is in turmoil now, and the root cause is the instability. Instead of fighting for a breath of air here, why not gain a foothold in Nanyang or Yangzhou as soon as possible! Once it is established, the morale of the people will naturally rise!"
"But we can't say that the government is doing something useless to the country, right?" Zhang Jun asked, pointing to the situation on the mountainside.
"It's not useless." Lu Haowen turned to Zhang Jun, shook his hand and said, "It makes us useless... Now the country is collapsing, bandits are everywhere, and the government army is incompetent. What the government does at this time will make the situation worse? But the key is that the government's actions are to choose personal sentiment over the overall situation; to choose military men over civil officials; to choose private interests over public interests..."
"How can you say it's selfish?" Zhang Jun was puzzled and couldn't help interrupting him. "Since the emperor went into exile, he has not even eaten a bite of ginger and fermented black beans. His food and clothing are simple beyond imagination. Now he is in a desperate situation and personally luring the enemy to organize the troops. He is definitely related to the two saints..."
"But he is the only one of Zhao Song's bloodline now!" Lü Haowen exhaled a long breath, then suddenly interrupted him. "If he is gone, Zhao Song will really perish!"
Zhang Jun was suddenly speechless.
"In the eyes of this official now, there is only himself. He gathers troops, appoints generals, and wins the hearts of the people. If he succeeds, everything belongs to him. If he fails, the whole world will be buried with him!" Lu Haowen actually cried as he spoke. "He ignored a proper way and abandoned the ancestral system and family rules, and insisted on doing it his own way. Isn't it because even if the way he did succeeded, it was all the credit of the gentlemen, and it has nothing to do with him? Before he fell into the well, he was so selfish, but he was selfish and cowardly. After he fell into the well, I thought he had changed, but unexpectedly, after just a few months, he was still as selfish as before. He was just another kind of selfishness, the so-called selfishness of recklessness!"
Zhang Jun was unable to refute, and could only hold the other's hand and whispered to comfort him: "Prime Minister Lu, your Majesty is young after all, and it is normal for you to be upset when you encounter a great change... Even you and I, after the Jingkang Incident and escaping from Tokyo, haven't we changed our previous temperaments?"
"It's different." Lu Haowen let out a long sigh again. "I am old and decadent, incapable of doing things, and I am an official who was promoted by imperial favor, so I have no great ambitions. After this great change, I can only use my qualifications and popularity to help the emperor to get by. You are only thirty years old. In the past, it was a blessing to be a seventh-rank official in the capital. In the future, everything is possible... So Deyuan must listen to me. You can recognize people, use people, accumulate experience, and have subordinates. These can be done slowly, but you must have your own ideas, opinions, and decisions. Otherwise, even if you become a minister in the East and West Palaces in the future, you will end up like me!"
Zhang Jun was extremely grateful, but he forgot that he had originally wanted to persuade this East Palace minister to take the lead, but now he was infected by the other party.
When Prime Minister Lu said this, he lost his composure and continued to hold the other party's hands and said, "Deyuan, things have come to this point. It is useless for you and me to say more. But now the war is dangerous and the emperor is determined to do it. It seems that we can't persuade him to retreat. But if the Jin army really crosses the river and causes chaos, I am old and weak, and I am afraid it will be difficult to escape from this Bagong Mountain. By then, nothing else matters, except that I have some manuscripts with me. They are the result of my many years of careful work. From tonight, I will give them to you for safekeeping. I don't ask for their promotion, but I just hope that you can organize them for me in the future..."
When Zhang Jun heard this, he almost burst into tears.
The two important officials, who were a hundred times smarter than Zhao Jiu, held hands in tears on the mountaintop. They were so frank that they talked about the broken mountains and rivers, the fate of the country, and their personal futures. They entrusted their futures to each other, as if they were going to develop from a temporary political alliance to a friendship that was beyond their years. However, before they could say much, they established this admirable feudal scholar-official friendship. Suddenly, there was a commotion on the mountainside, as if something had happened. The two were so frightened that they quickly let go and sent a squad to ask, but they found out that the Jin people had taken the opportunity to cross the river! !
Even though the two of them considered themselves to be the pillars of the Song Dynasty, they couldn't help but panic at this moment... It was not their fault. In fact, even Zhao Jiu, who had been "full of heroic spirit" on the mountainside recently, was panicked, otherwise he wouldn't have caused such a commotion.
However, when the two of them set off in a hurry and rushed to the mountainside, they found that Emperor Zhao had actually led Prime Minister Wang, General Wang, and a group of generals and elite soldiers to the foot of the mountain. The two of them, horrified but not surprised, hurriedly caught up again, but only halfway through they heard a thunderous cheer from the field east of the ferry at the foot of the mountain.
The two important officials went to inquire further and only then did they find out the details.
It turned out that the Jin army had no organized ferry and could not have made full preparations to cross the river. It was only when the commander of the Jin army, the fourth prince Jin Wushu, came in person and noticed the unusual movement in Henan, that he personally stood on the north bank of the river bank and ordered the army to cross the river for reconnaissance. The Jin army scouts relied on their arrogance over the past few years and wanted to show off their power in front of the commander, so they crossed the river in two small boats that they had obtained from nowhere to watch!
There are only twenty or thirty people!
As for Zhao Jiu, he naturally regained his composure after knowing the specific information. Then he went down the mountain himself, and at the same time, he took the opportunity to call Wang De, pointed at the boat, and promised him the position of the commander of the imperial camp in person. It all depends on the ability of this Wang Yasha!
And who was Wang De? He dared to attack the camp and arrest people when there were 100,000 Jin soldiers that day, so why would he be afraid of just 20 or 30 people today? He immediately mounted his horse, without using a large army or bows and crossbows, and led dozens of his own soldiers out of the camp under the watchful eyes of the crowd. He beat to death a dozen Jin soldiers who dared to go ashore on the frozen river bank with hand-to-hand combat, and frightened the boat behind him and turned back from the river!
The Song army also gathered together rarely and cheered wildly.
Lu Haowen and Zhang Jun were so frightened that they were soaked all over, and they looked at each other in silence... On the other side, on the other side of the river, a person who saw this scene from afar and waited for a report was also stunned.
"The people on the boat that escaped back said that Wang Yacha was on the other side. I have nothing to say about the death of a whole boatload of people, but they said that they saw the emperor's guards on the other side of the river. The new Zhao Song emperor did not run away at all, and Wang Yacha was ordered to fight..." Jin Wushu sat on his horse and stood by the river to watch for a while, but couldn't help turning back to ask a Song surrendered person beside him. "Is it true or false?"
"He certainly didn't run away." The surrendered man beside him was a former judge of Jingdong East Road, who was in great demand at the moment. He had already served as a military officer because he had worked hard along the way and had made contributions in pointing out roads, cities, and warehouses. Hearing this, he hurried to explain. "First, our Great Jin army was advancing at a lightning speed, and it was difficult for the Song army to provide a complete cover in such a hurry. Second, please look over there, Fourth Prince... Is there a flag standing tall on the northern ridge of Bagong Mountain across from us?"
"What about the flag?" Wuzhu was puzzled for a moment.
"Let the Fourth Prince know . Anyone with a little common sense should recognize it. It is the Jinwu Banner, which is used exclusively by the emperor. The presence of the Dragon Banner here means that the Emperor of Zhao Song must be here too!" The man hurriedly explained. "The two are in contact, which proves that the Emperor of Zhao Song is here... Let me congratulate the Fourth Prince first!"
Wushu was stunned for a moment, but suddenly waved his hand behind him and said, "Cut this guy's throat!"
The man was stunned for a moment, but before he could react, a Jin soldier stepped forward, grabbed him on horseback, and easily cut his throat with a knife. The man struggled for a moment and fell off his horse.
Wuzhu did not even look at the body still moving around under his horse, but shook his head repeatedly: "These Song people only know how to brag... They say that anyone with a little common sense should recognize it, but I don't recognize it, so what? They have fallen into a place where their country has been destroyed and the people have surrendered, and they still want to show off. It's really ridiculous!"
After saying this, the man turned around and returned to the camp, leaving behind the body of a surrendered soldier who had died for no apparent reason, frozen to death by the river.
