Volume 1 Chapter 6: Gossip
"The Ministry of Revenue said they had no money, the Imperial Camp said they had no soldiers, the Prime Minister said they had no people, several scholars said we could wait a bit, the Imperial Censors... impeached Li Gang and asked for his prosecution? Someone even suggested killing Zhang Bangchang?"
As the rain gradually subsided, Zhao Jiu successfully got rid of the isolation of the five important officials for the first time since he traveled through time. On the evening of the second day, he officially had access to the memorials of the civil and military officials in the palace. However, the situation did not seem to have changed at all, as if everyone was a surrenderist.
But what’s interesting is that Zhao Jiu doesn’t seem to care too much.
"Good instructor, you know, this is what people want!" Kang Lu, who was standing next to the lights, lowered his head and explained hurriedly. His attitude was much more humble than in the previous few days.
"Who is Zhang Bangchang?" Zhao Jiu asked curiously. "I seem to have some impression of him."
Kang Lu was extremely speechless. He could only put aside "what the people want" for the time being and gave a brief explanation.
It turns out that Zhang Bangchang was the prime minister of Emperor Qinzong of Song Dynasty, and he was also the last legitimate prime minister of the Northern Song Dynasty. During the Jingkang period, he mainly did the following things:
First, he obtained the instruction of Emperor Qinzong of Song Dynasty to replace Li Gang as the head of government, and went out of the city to preside over the matter of surrendering to the Jin people;
Secondly, probably because he was good-looking and his words were pleasant, and the then-powerful Marshal of the Jin Dynasty, Wanyan Wuli, was not a cautious person, so after the Jingkang Incident, when the Jin army retreated, they supported this man to the throne, hoping that he would become the emperor of the Han people and be a vassal of the Jin Dynasty;
Finally, as soon as the Jin people left, the Great Chu Emperor Zhang Bangchang invited back the Queen Mother Meng (the queen of Song Zhezong, who was deposed twice), who was widowed at home and worked as a Taoist priest, and returned the throne to Zhao Gou, who had fled to Nanjing (Shangqiu) to observe the situation, in the name of Queen Mother Meng.
Zhao Jiu suddenly realized, he remembered this person, it seems that the history book mentioned him, but it only said that this person opposed Li Gang during the Jingkang period and was a surrenderist, and the subsequent events were not mentioned. Of course, Zhao Jiu still thinks so now, as for Kang Lu's constant chatter about Zhang Bangchang becoming emperor and then coming back, he didn't pay much attention to it... It's okay to say that this kind of person is spineless, it's okay to say that he is incompetent, but at that time, from the emperor down, the entire Tokyo City surrendered, and it's hard to say anything to him with a knife on his neck. If he really kills people because of his weakness, the killing will never stop.
Of course, there must be a reason for killing him. One is that he chose to surrender as a prime minister, and the other is that he became the emperor. But no matter what, he had to be killed at the beginning. There is no reason to exile him for several months and then find a reason to kill him. Otherwise, what would the other ministers who were exiled from Tokyo think?
"I didn't have anything to say to this guy at the beginning that day?" I don't know if it's muscle memory, but Zhao Jiu now uses a lot of messy words when he opens his mouth.
"Yes." Kang Lu calmed down and answered seriously. "When the emperor ascended the throne, he promised him peace and wealth, and also gave him the position of prime minister..."
"Then why did they exile him?" Zhao Jiu felt increasingly strange. "And I've been chatting with the squad leaders these days, and we've talked about a lot of things, but why didn't anyone mention this guy?"
Kang Lu lowered his head and said nothing.
"Sir, please speak frankly." Zhao Jiu couldn't help but frown.
"I won't hide it from you." Perhaps even though he knew it, Kang Lu couldn't hide it, so he whispered a few truths. "When Zhang claimed to be the fake emperor, many people advised us to get rid of him, but even so, we only let him go to Tanzhou for the sake of his return to power. But later we found out about his affair with Madam Jinggong... That's when everyone was furious, and we asked our family to remind everyone that after a while, when everything is smooth, we must issue an order to kill Zhang Bangchang."
"Madam Jinggong?" Emperor Zhao became more and more confused.
"He was a member of the palace of the Taoist Supreme Emperor back then."
Kang Lu also spoke more quietly, as if he was afraid that the guards such as Yang Yizhong in front of the door would hear him. "Back then, when Zhang Bangchang pretended to be the emperor and entered the inner court, the Jin people gave him Madam Jinggong as his queen. Madam Jinggong repeatedly sent fruits to this thief and said nothing about it. It is said that she also met him privately, called him a great lady, and did a few unspeakable things. Even when the thief Zhang left the inner court, Madam Jinggong held his arm and sent him off, and criticized the emperor. Now, Madam Jinggong has been locked up in the imperial court, waiting for her to confess and get rid of her, but the emperor fell into the well at this time..."
"This is ridiculous!" Zhao Jiu, who had just understood what was going on, suddenly slammed the table and spoke out, startling Yang Yizhong inside the door and several squad leaders outside the door so much that they all turned around.
"It's really ridiculous!" Kang Lu quickly lowered his head to agree.
"How can you kill people for something like this?" Zhao Jiu was obviously furious.
Kang Lu almost bit off his tongue, as if he was swallowing some words forcefully.
"If we kill Zhang Bangchang, and we kill him in the name of surrendering to the Jin Dynasty, what can people in the world say? Why do we have to change our ways because of this?" Zhao Jiu was furious. "Besides, what's wrong with Madam Jinggong's behavior? In that situation, if Zhang Bangchang hadn't protected her, what would have happened to her as a weak woman? Would she have to be captured by the Jin people to have a good ending? It's reasonable for her to blame the Supreme and fall in love with Zhang Bangchang, right?"
Kang Lu wanted to say something but stopped himself.
"Let that lady go and let her go find Zhang Bangchang!" Zhao Jiu came back to his senses and also felt bored. "Zhang Bangchang can be killed, but killing him is useless now. Let the lady pass on a message to confine him to Tanzhou for life and not to show off. Just treat it as a prisoner."
Kang Lu was speechless for a long while, until the official turned his head and looked at him coldly, then he nodded.
Seeing Kang Lu's agreement, Zhao Jiu was about to look at the memorial again, but suddenly realized: "How many palace servants are there here?"
"Not much, maybe three to five hundred..."
"How about this," Zhao Jiu said slowly. "Since the two saints have been hunted in the north, and they are innocent, and many of the ministers and officers who escaped from Dongjing City, Hebei, and Hedong have their families separated, we can give them palace maids...find the older, more virtuous ones...it can be considered the best of both worlds."
This time, Kang Lu still bowed his head and remained silent.
"What do you mean?" Zhao Ji was too lazy to play dumb with this person. "If there's anything I don't know, just tell me directly."
"Among them, there are about 100 to 200 people. They are the 'laundresses' that the emperor sent people to Tokyo and Nanjing to look for after he ascended the throne..."
"I... Zhao Jiu... am I such a scumbag?" When the other party was halfway through saying this, Zhao Jiu suddenly realized what he meant and exclaimed in surprise.
After ascending the throne, which was a few months ago, the Jingkang Shame had just ended. Where did Zhao Laojiu get his sexual interest from? !
"That's all because Chen Dong and his people are slandering His Majesty!" Although Kang Lu didn't understand what scum meant, he seemed to have figured out some of the emperor's ways and immediately explained. "How can the emperor ascend the throne without palace maids? Apart from anything else, who will serve Madam Pan and the heir?"
"Did Chen Dong die because of saying this?" Zhao Jiu suddenly realized what was going on under the lamp, but then he was speechless. "Forget it... leave twenty people to take care of Madam Pan and the heir, and keep some older and homeless people to do laundry in the palace, and pick out the rest of the young and good-looking ones and give them to the young officers who have left their families... but they can only stay here and cannot go out with the army, let alone follow them in the army."
"The emperor is wise!" Kang Lu nodded repeatedly, finally he had learned his lesson.
However, after agreeing to these, seeing that Emperor Zhao was about to continue reading the memorials, this senior official Kang slightly adjusted his mindset and finally returned to the main topic he originally wanted to talk about:
"Come to think of it, the emperor may not remember that the one who wanted to kill Zhang Bangchang the most that day was none other than Li Xianggong!"
"What do you mean?" Zhao Jiu put down the memorial from Lu Haowen, a scholar of the Zi Zheng Hall, and opened a memorial from some censor. As soon as he saw it, he couldn't help but frowned slightly.
"There are some rumors... One is that Li Xianggong hates evil and is extremely angry at those who cannot keep their chastity. He has to kill them as soon as possible!"
"What about the second one?"
"Secondly, some people said that Li Xianggong had a personal grudge against Zhang Bangchang. At that time, the court was newly established, and they wanted to kill him to establish their authority and stabilize the situation."
"Three?"
"have……"
"Tell me."
"Third, it is to say that although Li Xianggong helped Your Majesty rebuild the court, his contribution was enormous, but it cannot be said that he did not respect Your Majesty and intended to use this opportunity to seize power and control the court."
The lights flickered, and Kang Lu, standing between the lights and shadows, spoke slowly. "So, he had two major proposals in the court that day. One was to go to Nanyang. On the surface, it was naturally said that Nanyang could connect with Guanzhong to calm the hearts of the people in the northwest. In fact, no one could say whether it was to suppress the original intention of your Majesty's confidants in the former Grand Marshal's Office. Because Huang Xianggong and his men had agreed to go to Yangzhou long before Li Xianggong came. Even Liang Shizhi had gone to the southeast to raise funds early... Your Majesty, it's not that we old people in the Marshal's Office don't want to fight against the Jin, but there is really no strategic location in the Central Plains, and we have already made preparations in Yangzhou, so it's not easy to go back. Even the emperor himself had this idea that day, so he dismissed Li Xianggong."
"So that's how it is...and then? Where is Zhang Bangchang?" Zhao Jiu continued to read the memorial in his hand without raising his head.
"Zhang Bangchang... Actually, according to the previous discussion between Nanyang and Yangzhou, this Prime Minister Li insisted on killing Zhang Bangchang. Some people also said that he was secretly planning to get rid of the old officials in Tokyo. This way, he could take advantage of his position as the sole prime minister to fill the court with his own people and gain control of the government."
Zhao Jiu looked at the note in his hand and suddenly laughed.
"Your Majesty, don't believe it?" Kang Lu was not anxious but happy when he saw this. "In that case, why not summon a few of the old officials in Tokyo to ask? Doesn't the Majesty want to meet the officials in the imperial court to inquire about the defense of the Central Plains?"
"Who are these old officials from Tokyo?" Zhao Jiu turned his head and asked with a smile.
"Lü Haowen, a scholar in the Zizheng Palace, is a famous Taoist scholar. He originally resigned from the position of Shangshu Youcheng long ago and went to Xuanzhou, but the road was not safe and he was worried about your Majesty's health, so he didn't have time to leave; Zhang Jun, the Imperial Censor in the Palace, is always upright... These two are recognized as moral figures, and they both escaped from Tokyo. Why don't you meet them?" Kang Lu quickly pointed at the memorial in Emperor Zhao's hand and said with a smile. "Besides, aren't these two people's memorials the two that your Majesty has read the longest tonight?"
"Since it was recommended by Senior Official Kang, let's meet these two people tomorrow!" Zhao Jiu touched the memorial of Zhang Jun, the Imperial Censor in the Palace, in his hand, and laughed even more, as if he was still confident.
