Volume 1 Chapter 52: Life and Death (Part 2)
However, when Zhao Jiu cried wildly, there were countless people outside the tent. The lower-level soldiers were naturally confused and felt that the emperor and Zhang Qilang were a king and his subject, just like in the drama. A soldier risked his life in exchange for the emperor crying for him, which was worth it. However, those high-ranking civil and military officials, although they were solemn, could not help but sigh in their hearts that the emperor was good at winning people's hearts. His crying was even more genuine than the last time he ascended the throne in Nanjing (Shangqiu)... What a good trick!
Only Yang Yizhong had some strange guesses in his mind and a complicated mood, which was different from others.
No matter what, Zhao Jiu cried for a full quarter of an hour, and only left the tent when the sun had completely set. Everyone then quickly gathered around him.
Although Zhao Jiu had tidied himself up, there were still traces of tears on his face. He stood outside the tent and wanted to speak in person, but he was unable to find the words for a moment. He could only wave his hand and let Yang Yizhong announce what they had discussed before the trip, which were nothing more than posthumous gifts, promises, rewards, lavish burials, and future enthronement of the river god.
However, given Zhang Yongzhen's status as a general in preparation, and the Song Dynasty's system of valuing civil officials over military officials, no posthumous promotion could possibly be very high... There are 53 ranks of military officers, and the first one, Taiwei, cannot be posthumously promoted. However, the next rank, Hengbanshi, where Zhang Yongzhen was posthumously promoted to, was a key official when he was alive and a key channel for transfer to border states, but posthumously it was only a fifth-rank official. The rest of the people on the same ship were similar, seemingly promoted to a very high rank, but they were only posthumously promoted from the seventh or eighth ranks.
As for the most important things, such as ennobling his wife and children and giving them rewards, his wife was not by his side at that time, so they were just empty words and promises; even for the people on the same ship, only one of them's brother was found in the army, who was promoted to the position of imperial guard and given extra rewards, which was considered an explanation.
After all is said and done, it was the funeral and the building of temples and the enshrinement of gods that were finally put into practice.
In this way, they tossed around for the whole night. Since they were talking about the Conferred Gods and asked Scholar Kobayashi to write the obituary, Lin Jingmo naturally took the opportunity to ask about Zhang Qilang's last words that everyone wanted to know.
Zhao Jiu's expression remained unchanged, but he responded calmly: "Zhang Qilang only said two things. One is that he cannot return home to see the elders of Yan'an; the other is that he cannot defeat the bandits and bleed the shame of the past... Before he died, he kept shouting to return home and died!"
Scholar Kobayashi was stunned for a moment and wanted to ask more questions, but when he saw Emperor Zhao's expressionless face and thought of the crying he heard when he rushed over after hearing the news, he held back his words. Then, in the capacity of Scholar Yutang, he began to write an obituary in front of Zhang Qilang's coffin.
After the memorial was finished, Zhao Jiu personally went down to offer sacrifices to Zhang Yongzhen, the only soldier on the ship who took the initiative to counterattack and died in battle. He watched as several people were hastily buried at the foot of Bagua Mountain. He gave some instructions to Qiao Zhongfu and Zhang Jing, then turned back sadly and went up the mountain in the dark.
After reaching the top of the mountain, Zhao Jiu had no intention of resting. Instead, he passed by the small village without entering. He returned to his tent and wrote down everything he had promised today in his little notebook. Then he left again and went to the small village on the top of the mountain to meet Lu Haowen, and met a group of people... a group of refugees.
Moreover, although Han Shizhong came with a storm from the east and scared off Jin Wushu, he gave up on going ashore just in case. Instead, he arranged the fleet for defense, patrol, and settlement... We will not mention these for now... Let's just say that Commander Han had been preparing for war in Chuzhou and Sizhou before, but naturally met many people who fled from Jingdong and Jingzhou on the Huai River.
Among them, ordinary people were allowed to pass by, and the brave ones were picked up and sent to the army, and even homeless women were found to marry soldiers as wives... But there was a group of people that even Han Shizhong had to treat with more courtesy, and he simply transported them on military ships and sent them to the shore as soon as possible.
"Who is Liu Hongdao, the prefect of Qingzhou?" Zhao Jiu entered the central military hall of the small camp, sat down, and called out a name without waiting for these people to salute and greet him.
"I am Liu Hongdao." Under the lights, a man quickly stood up and bowed. "I would like to congratulate Your Majesty. Since the Jingkang Incident, our army has been defeated in many battles and it is difficult to win a victory. I didn't expect to win today..."
"I thought Liu Qing would complain about me first, saying that I value military men over literature and that I would rather go to mourn for a rough soldier than come to see you!" Zhao Jiu seemed to have not yet come over what happened before, but for some reason, his tone could be considered calm.
But no matter what the tone was, when these words came from the mouth of an emperor, a group of ministers in the hall, including Lu Haowen, couldn't help but feel uneasy for a moment.
Liu Hongdao, who was the first to bear the brunt of the attack, bowed his head hastily: "I am a man who has lost his country and his army, and I cannot die for my loyalty. I should have covered my face and resigned, and returned to my hometown. Fortunately, the government has not abandoned me and summoned me to the imperial court. How dare I harbor any more resentment?"
"That's good to know." Zhao Jiu remained calm. "That's why I put Zhang Yongzhen's funeral before summoning you important officials, and that's why I called you first... Things are different now. All the rules in the past have long been gone with the two saints. Have you seen the documents I issued?"
"Your Majesty, I saw it!" Liu Hongdao became more cautious.
"To this day, the Jin people are still pursuing us, and their intention to destroy the Song Dynasty is obvious. There is no room for maneuver between the Song and Jin, so from now on, everything will be based on the fight against the Jin people. " Zhao Jiu glanced at Lu Haowen, who was hesitant to speak, and continued calmly. "In the battle on Huai River today, only Zhang Yongzhen stood up, and only the people on that boat died facing north, and they almost shook the situation. So they are the first-class useful people in the fight against the Jin Dynasty, so I will go to see them first! And you, Liu Hongdao, are the only one among the escapees who dares to fight the Jin people, so I came here to call you to talk first! Do you understand?"
"I understand..." Liu Hongdao paused for a moment before responding in a low voice.
"Councilor Xu sent a letter from the south the day before yesterday, saying that Guangnan received the news late, and many people thought that the Jingkang incident was not over yet, so they donated their property to serve the king. As a result, they led their troops to the Jiangnan West Road area and found out that the country had been destroyed . In addition, the traitor Huang Qianshan was in power at that time, and he actually regarded them as thieves and did not allow them to cross the river, so they lost their way." Zhao Jiu continued to speak slowly. "I will retain all your previous official status and give you the assignment of the governor of Jiangnan West Road. Go there to collect troops. After the troops are in hand, first stabilize the local security in Jiangxi, and then lead the troops to Huaishang to support the imperial court... Can you do it?"
"This is easy!" Liu Hongdao immediately felt relieved. "I will never let down your grace and forgiveness today."
"That's good." Zhao Jiu was also relieved, and then suddenly sighed. "In fact, since ancient times, the only way to survive is death. The two saints can't die with honor, so why should you die with honor?"
The hall was full of important officials who had fled, plus Lu Haowen, all of them were dismayed.
But Zhao Jiu remained unmoved, and continued to sigh: "Even I fled all the way from Nanjing (Shangqiu) to Huaishang, how can I charge you with similar crimes?"
The ministers were slightly relieved.
Zhao Jiu's voice did not stop, but became louder and louder: "However, when the country was in ruins, there were still people like Li Ruoshui and Zhang Shuye among the civil officials who dared to die for their loyalty, and there were still people like Zhang Yongzhen among the military generals who dared to fight alone to the north... So, although it is tolerable to live in disgrace, it cannot be tolerated forever. Besides, you and I, the king and the minister, should know what is right and wrong, right? And we should also know what is shame, right?"
All the civil officials did not dare to be negligent and bowed their heads again to confess their crimes.
"No need to apologize." Zhao Jiu ignored them and continued. "This is why I don't want to retreat again! I also want to remind you that since I won't retreat at the Huai River, if you dare to retreat after crossing the Huai River, even if you are a civil official, you can still be killed! So there will be no next time!"
The atmosphere in the hall was solemn, but Zhao Jiu simply stood up:
"Before we leave today, I would like to give you a famous poem written by Li Qingzhao, a poet from Yi'an, which is said to mock you and me. Please remember it in your heart, and use it as both a spur and an encouragement... Live as a hero, and die as a ghost hero. I still miss Xiang Yu, who refused to cross the Yangtze River!"
After saying that, Zhao Jiu ignored the rest of the people including Zhao Mingcheng, the governor of Zibo Prefecture, and just left.
As soon as Emperor Zhao left, the others all looked at Zhao Mingcheng. Zhao Mingcheng's face turned red, but he could only spread his hands and stamp his feet: "There is no such poem! This poem must be because the Emperor hates us so much that he abandoned us, and he is just mocking us!"
