Volume 1 Chapter 5 Meeting
"I want to recall Mr. Li!"
At noon that day, as soon as he returned to the imperial court, Zhao Jiu told the chief escort Kang Lu that he wanted to see the two ministers of the East and West Palaces and the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Camp, Wang Yuan. His attitude was so tough that it was shocking. Coupled with the dozens of Red Heart Cavalrymen accompanying him, Kang Lu was caught off guard and could only respond in public.
As soon as he saw the two ministers in the main hall of the rear palace, Emperor Zhao suddenly made a surprising move and teased Qiu Yu!
It was really autumn rain, because the sky gradually became gloomy after sunrise, and by the morning, the first autumn rain of the first year of Jianyan had already begun to fall over the Mingdao Palace.
“Your Majesty… ...”
The Prime Minister Wang Boyan was relatively okay , but the serious Prime Minister Huang Qianshan couldn't utter a coherent sentence for half a day. It was unclear whether it was because of his incompetence or some other reason.
"Everyone!" Kang Lu couldn't stand it any longer, and took advantage of the fact that this was the back hall instead of the court, and spoke out to help regardless of his status. "Prime Minister Li has just been dismissed, how can he change his mind overnight?"
"That's right." Mr. Huang also reacted and immediately objected. "Good instructor, I know that there is no such precedent in our dynasty!"
"What precedents are you talking about when the country is in ruins?" Zhao Jiu, who was sitting on the chair with a stern face and still slightly damp, immediately refuted before the other party finished speaking. "Li Xianggong was only dismissed from his post, not because of a crime. Is there any law that forbids his recall?"
The autumn rain continued, and Huang Qianshan, who was nearly fifty years old, was sweating profusely: "Your Majesty, I..."
"Your Majesty." Kang Lu gathered his sleeves again and offered his help. "Your Majesty has forgotten many things since you fell into the well. I'm afraid you don't know that when you were in Nanjing (Shangqiu), one counselor and two students died because of Li Xianggong's affairs... Counselor Song Qiyu was killed by Li Xianggong for criticizing Li Xianggong's empty talk and useless strategies, which violated the taboo of not killing scholars and officials; the two students supported Li Xianggong, but in order to support Li Xianggong, they openly slandered your personal morality... I hope you know that the reason why you abandoned this person before was not only because he wanted to leave for Nanyang, but also because he was domineering, abused his power and wealth, and looked down on Your Majesty!"
To treat someone as a child means to treat someone as a child…After hearing this, Zhao Jiu actually believed it, because it might really be the case. Otherwise, with Li Gang's tremendous contribution in helping Zhao Gou rebuild the central government in just a few months, it would be impossible for such a violent conflict to arise so quickly. As a result, Zhao Gou had only been on the throne for less than three months when the political struggle that led to the death of censors and students occurred, and Li Gang was dismissed from his position as prime minister.
As for the reason why Li Gang despises Zhao Jiu, it is self-evident.
One is that this body is indeed young, and the civil servants of the Song Dynasty have always liked to fool Emperor Zhao, which is a traditional skill of the senior and prestigious ministers in the court of the Song Dynasty. Another reason is that these ministers who are opposed to the Jin Dynasty may have experienced the Jingkang Incident, and saw through the cowardice and incompetence of the Zhao family in the face of the Jin people. They knew the fear in the hearts of each of Emperor Zhao, so they had to use moral kidnapping and lies to deal with the situation.
It's just that they forgot that the officials and the vast majority of the literati of the Song Dynasty have always been amateurs at external fighting but experts at internal fighting. That's why Zhao Jiu found out as soon as he traveled through time that the three anti-Jin role models whose names were mentioned in the history textbooks, Chen Dong, were killed by him, Li Gang was driven away by him , and Zong Ze was abandoned by him.
Based on these things, it can be said that the original owner of this body is definitely someone special.
"is that so?"
With mixed feelings, Zhao Jiu forced himself to put on a straight face and glanced at the five important officials in the room, who were also the five fences he had been facing since he traveled through time... He saw Kang Lu, the chief escort of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, extremely anxious; Prime Minister Huang Qianshan was shocked and at a loss; Prime Minister Wang Boyan remained silent; the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Camp Wang Yuan looked around; only Yang Yizhong and Yang Zhengfu remained calm, holding a sword and standing solemnly to one side.
Of course, Yang Yizhong, as the only man holding a sword in the room, had just betrayed his enemies. Together with Liu Yan standing outside the hall, they were the biggest reason why Emperor Zhao decided to abandon the cautious approach that has been popular recently and go for a reckless approach.
"That's right!" Kang Lu answered quickly, and stomped his foot hard on the ground without caring about anything.
At this point, the two chancellors and the commander-in-chief also came to their senses and bowed their heads in agreement, as if they were united. What was absurd was that the reason these people could unite as one was precisely because they were all Zhao Gou's confidants.
"Then let's forget about recalling Li Xianggong for now!" Zhao Jiu looked at him coldly for a while, then suddenly smiled again. "I want to recall Vice Marshal Zong... Zong stayed in Hebei and was the Vice Marshal of the Marshal's Office. His contribution to the enthronement is no less than yours, and I have always been close to and respected him. He is in Tokyo, and we are in Bozhou, only 300 miles away. We can get here in ten days. How about it?"
Kang Lu and others changed color again - on the surface, Zong Ze came from the Grand Marshal's Mansion just like them, but that old man was even more wicked and stubborn than Li Gang. If they really got him, wouldn't there be another bloody storm?
But the previous excuses could not be used at this time, and the intentions displayed by the emperor in today's surprise attack really frightened these important officials.
"Your Majesty!" Kang Lu changed his address again. "Vice Marshal Zong is in Tokyo, and his position is critical. He cannot be summoned lightly. The instructor knows that the Jin soldiers have crossed the river again and are heading for Sishui Pass! If Zong is summoned to stay at this time, wouldn't the gates of Tokyo be wide open?"
"How about I go to Tokyo with you all to meet him?" Zhao Jiu pressed forward again.
Kang Lu was completely terrified and could only turn back for help.
The Prime Minister Wang Boyan, who was already nearly 60 years old, could no longer avoid it, and finally spoke helplessly: "How can we let Your Majesty fall into a desperate situation again? Your Majesty... I know the Privy Council, and I have always known the military situation. Since the Jingkang period, the population of Tokyo has been scattered, and it is actually an empty city. The surrounding military is empty, and famine continues. There are only millions of defeated soldiers, refugees, and bandits who are looting without limit. Moreover, they are facing the main force of the Jin army. It is really not a good time to go there now."
"Then what do you say?" Zhao Jiu sneered again and again. "You have repeatedly urged me to go south to Huaidian and Yangzhou, but how can I go south easily without a proper arrangement behind me? By then, not to mention Hebei and Hedong, wouldn't the people of the Central Plains think that I and you are going to abandon them? What if something happens by then? You also know that I have fallen into a well and lost my composure, so some stories are just listened to as news... I heard a classmate talk about it the other day. During the Jingkang period, I was an envoy to the Kingdom of Jin, and let the deputy envoy go first. When we arrived in Xiangzhou, the people of Hebei heard that we were going to negotiate peace, and they beat the innocent deputy envoy to death on the street... Is this true?"
"Yes." There was a storm outside the palace, but the palace was quiet for a long time before the Prime Minister Wang Boyan spoke with difficulty. "Wang Jizhi was beaten to death on the road by Xiangzhou people because he asked for peace with the north."
"Aren't you afraid of being beaten to death?" Zhao Jiu asked softly, as if asking several important officials what they had for breakfast.
The wind and rain outside the palace came and went suddenly, and the back hall of Mingdao Palace was also in a precarious situation. The powerful officials inside were stunned by the sudden attack by Emperor Zhao.
After looking at each other, they were helpless, and Prime Minister Huang Qianshan had to bite the bullet and speak: "Then what do you think we should do?"
"Issue an imperial decree to allow all officials, regardless of rank, to submit petitions to discuss the deployment of defenses in the Central Plains." Zhao Jiu finally took the initiative for the first time, and it seemed that his ultimate goal had finally been exposed. "I want to see what the civil and military officials in the court are thinking."
Several senior officials were in a state of embarrassment, but after looking at each other, they finally submitted their orders.
Emperor Zhao didn't think much about it and went straight to the back to rest... After all the trouble last night, he didn't actually get a good rest.
Not to mention how refreshed Zhao Jiu felt after this reckless move, on the other side, the five powerful officials of the imperial court moved out of the back hall and went to different places. But a quarter of an hour later, they met again in a wing of the central hall of Mingdao Palace under the organization of Kang Lu.
This place was the temporary location of the Privy Council, and according to the Song court system, all confidential documents were handled in the Privy Council. Therefore, whenever something happened to the emperor in the past, this place would become the gathering place for the five people (sometimes Yang Yi Zhong did not come).
"Master Kang, what happened to the official?"
It was raining heavily outside the wing room. Huang Qianshan, who was just fifty years old this year, was the most frightened. He was also the most out of control in the hall just now.
Of course, Zhao Jiu might not understand, but these people understand Huang Xianggong's thoughts very well... You must know that whether it is Li Gang or Zong Ze, they are directly threatening his position, but more importantly, the struggle between Huang Xianggong and Li Gang was a bloody one!
Therefore, once Emperor Zhao changes his mind, Huang Qianshan will not simply be removed from his position, and he may have to go to Qiongzhou Island.
Kang Lu said nothing, just stared at Yang Yi Zhong.
Yang Yizhong, who was always good at welcoming and respectful, understood what was meant and immediately bowed his head to answer respectfully. He reported the events of last night and the emperor's itinerary to several senior officials in detail without hiding anything, but omitted the fact that he had betrayed the emperor in the morning. Finally, he added a conjectural remark:
"The official was probably touched by what happened last night and thought that the people in the north did not want to go south. He was afraid that if he did not make arrangements, something like this would happen again on the road."
"That makes sense." Commander Wang Yuan breathed a sigh of relief. "It's human nature. We need Officer Kang to persuade the emperor."
"It's all right if there's a reason, but that's just the surface." Kang Lu didn't relax at all after hearing this, instead his face became even gloomier. "The key point is that time when we fell into the well. After waking up, the emperor suddenly didn't recognize you and me, and his behavior was strange, as if he had become a different person..."
"Mr. Kang, be careful with your words!" Prime Minister Wang Boyan immediately interrupted him with a serious expression. "An official is an official. Just because he was injured once and forgot some human affairs, you can't say he is not an official."
"That's right." Wang Yuan also quickly agreed. "Just one thing, if the one in the back hall is not the emperor, then where is the emperor? Moreover, hundreds of civil and military officials, hundreds of state armies and millions of civilians in the world only recognize this emperor... He speaks clearly and moves freely, so he must be the emperor! If a few of us say that he is not the emperor, I'm afraid that Zhang Jun and his military leaders will come back and purge the emperor first!"
"Of course I understand this!" Kang Lu was able to maintain courtesy to the two prime ministers, but he was full of impatience towards Wang Yuan, who was born as a military general, even though the latter was the commander-in-chief of the imperial camp and the actual military commander of the small court. "I am a eunuch, and I need the emperor in the back palace more than you do! Without this emperor, you will lose your power, but what about me? Even if you are demoted, you will all go to Qiongzhou Island, while I will go to Shamen Island! But after falling into the well, the emperor's mind changed, and his mind was confused by something. Now he actually wants to stay in the Central Plains to fight against the Jin. This is also the truth."
Everyone in the room was speechless at once.
There is no way, this is too bad, he used to be such a good official, how could he become like this after falling into a well? There is no way to post a notice in front of the main hall of Mingdao Palace, asking the civil and military officials to answer anonymously.
Little did they know that these days, Emperor Zhao Jiu felt depressed, but these people felt like the sky was falling!
"Then how does Mr. Kang think we should deal with this?" Everyone was speechless for a while. Prime Minister Huang Qianshan tried to adjust his mood and spoke again, but he still unconsciously regarded Kang Lu as the main person to consult.
"We know how powerful it is." Kang Lu thought for a moment and gave the bottom line. "But no matter what, we have to find a way to survive the present and then lead the emperor to Yangzhou safely. Once in Yangzhou, there is a thousand miles away, so there is no need to worry about the Jin army, and the emperor will naturally not care about the words of these bandits who want to fight against the Jin all day long... When the time comes, we will serve the emperor well and let him live a safe and happy life, and then everything will naturally be resolved."
"But how can we survive this?" Huang Qianshan was still uneasy. "The emperor's request cannot be stopped. The crime of isolating the inside and the outside is not something you and I can bear. When the time comes, there will be no need for the emperor. The imperial scholars and censors in the palace can send us to Qiongzhou Island."
"That's a straightforward matter." Kang Lu said solemnly. "First, we need to let the emperor know that most of the civil and military officials in the imperial court will still go to Yangzhou. For example, the rebels in the Loyalty Team are just a few barbarians from Liao, and they cannot represent people's hearts. Secondly, we need to let the emperor remember and think clearly that people like Li Gang and Zong Ze are far less caring than you and me..."
"The first one is easy to deal with. After the emperor was injured, he rarely asked about government affairs. Most of the memorials were handled by you and me. This time the emperor wants to open up the channels for people to speak freely. We should take the trouble to warn those who may be talking nonsense and then check them carefully in the Privy Council." Huang Qianshan also became serious. "But the second one..."
"Don't you understand the latter, Mr. Huang?" Kang Lu sneered. "How did you kill Chen Dong in Nanjing more than a month ago? And chased Li Gang away? The emperor has forgotten the past, and you have forgotten it too?"
Huang Qianshan was speechless for a moment, but he understood.
It is said that no one is perfect except saints; it is also said that three people make a tiger, and Zeng Shen killed someone.
Since ancient times, villains at the center of power have taken advantage of their control over the information channels around the monarch. After figuring out the monarch's character, they would present some of the things that the monarch cares about and hates the most. Then some people would naturally be in trouble... This kind of thing has happened in the past and will inevitably happen in the future.
Of course, as prime ministers and key figures in the inner court, and given the emperor's apparent impatience with the five people in this room recently, there are some things they definitely cannot do in person.
"Pick a good candidate!"
Kang Lu reminded the Prime Minister of the Great Song Dynasty in the room again, then clasped his hands and turned to leave. Yang Yi Zhong did not dare to be negligent, and actually followed him out. As a noble attendant, he personally held up a paper umbrella to protect the chief escort of the Great Song Dynasty's Ministry of Internal Affairs from wind and rain.
The remaining three people in the room looked at each other and said nothing.
