Volume 1 Chapter 7: Summoning
Both Kang Yaban and Zhao Guanjia seemed to be fully confident, but little did they know that they were just playing a lowly and ridiculous game like sparrows pecking at each other.
Kang Yaban was secretly pleased with himself because he thought that all these notes had been carefully selected during the day, and judging from the content, all the people were his own people, so it didn't matter who he recommended. However, he didn't know that Yang Yizhong had clearly explained all his actions to Emperor Zhao from the beginning.
As for our Emperor Zhao, although he looks wise and powerful, the fundamental reason is not that he is wise, but that he never expected these notes from the beginning. His complacency only comes from the fact that yesterday's victory has not yet dissipated.
To put it bluntly, this guy is young after all. He had been holding it in for many days, and once he won half a time, his emotions showed on his face.
To put it simply, it's just being carried away by success.
As for the matter about the lady and the palace maids, it was just the humanistic mentality of a modern person with normal values taking advantage of the overflowing confidence.
And the matter of Lu Haowen and Zhang Jun's memorials to the emperor is even more ridiculous.
By the way, the reason why our Emperor Zhao noticed the memorials of these two people was that the former one was because the name sounded nice and the official position was high (the scholar of the Zizheng Hall who had just resigned from the position of Shangshu Youcheng), especially because Zhao Jiu's body still had mechanical memory and he could understand the words in it, so he could see at a glance that the other person's writing was excellent and the tone was gentle, so he naturally paid attention to it; and the latter one was because Emperor Zhao's historical level was relatively low, and he mistook this censor for another famous figure of this era, Zhang Jun, the Grand Marshal… But the Grand Marshal Zhang is now in his forties, and he had long been the commander of the rear army of the imperial camp, and he has a great reputation in the army. Including Yang Yizhong, at least 30% of the imperial guards came from his command, and he knew that they were still outside suppressing bandits and had not returned yet. So after looking at it for a long time, how could Emperor Zhao not understand that he had recognized the wrong person and was confused?
Back to the present, no matter how stupid Emperor Zhao was, he knew that since these memorials had been sent to him, he could not expect the people who submitted them to have any positive attitude.
Come to think of it.
Firstly, those who walked here were genuine refugees from a fallen country. The difficult conditions were objectively real and many people were indeed depressed and had no desire to fight. Secondly, the previous struggle in Nanjing had originally involved a purge of the pro-war faction.
In this situation, even if there really are pro-war factions, I'm afraid it will take time to dispel their doubts before they emerge, right?
But no matter what, in late August, as the sky cleared up slightly, apart from the confused attempt to appease the people on the second day after he got out of the well, Zhao Jiu, who had been in this era for more than ten years, received two important ministers of the court for the first time as Emperor Zhao, and finally broke through the previous five-person fence.
The two sides met in the back hall, with Kang Lu and Yang Yi Zhong accompanying them. After the formalities and greetings were completed, everything was calm. Then, naturally, it was Lu Haowen who asked the first questions in his capacity as a scholar in the Zizheng Palace and as a former Minister of War and Right Prime Minister. However, he started with some random gossip.
You must know that although this idle chat may seem boring, it is actually necessary.
Since Emperor Zhao fell into the well, he had been recuperating from his injuries and had rarely contacted foreign ministers. This sudden request for the imperial civil and military officials to discuss the defense of the Central Plains was a rumor that Emperor Zhao had forgotten some personnel matters due to his head injury. Therefore, Lu Haowen's trip seemed to have a political mission to observe Emperor Zhao's physical condition on behalf of foreign ministers. Emperor Zhao needed to contact foreign ministers to regain power , and foreign ministers had to roughly verify the legitimacy of the emperor.
In the current situation, we can't really count on a Song Hui Emperor, right? Of course, if it really becomes Song Hui Emperor, there is nothing we can do.
Fortunately, Emperor Zhao spoke clearly, fluently and calmly, and the two sides chatted for a while. Not to mention others in the back hall, Mr. Lu was completely relieved - this emperor was indeed not stupid!
At this time, Zhao Jiu also learned some details about Lu Haowen, such as his "Taoism" is not the Taoism of Mingdao Palace, but the famous Confucian Taoism in history. Moreover, Lu Haowen came from a famous family. His great-great-uncle Lu Mengzheng, great-grandfather Lu Yijian, and grandfather Lu Gongzhu were all prime ministers.
At the same time, Zhao Jiu also understood why Kang Lu was confident in recommending this person to meet him. It was because this person had previously resigned from the position of Shangshu Youcheng (deputy prime minister) because Li Gang cracked down on exiled ministers in Tokyo. This person was in Tokyo Bianliang that day and participated in Zhang Bangchang's pseudo-dynasty, but he was also the first person to persuade Zhang Bangchang to return the throne.
However, it was obvious that this Taoist scholar was very different from the Taoist scholar Zhao Jiu had in mind. He was gentle and courteous, and answered every question. However, he neither took the opportunity to attack Li Gang nor said much about the politics of Huang and Wang. He just gently advised Zhao Jiu to do things within his ability, just as he said in his memorials.
Through this, Zhao Jiu also learned some of the hidden secrets.
"I have seen many people say in their memorials that there are no soldiers in the north. Is it true that there are no soldiers in Hebei and the Central Plains?"
"In fact, there are soldiers, but most of them are rioters and militias. Even if they are recruited, they can't fight against the Jin people in the field." Lu Haowen responded calmly. "The people of Hebei have been tortured by the Jin people. Many of them are willing to fight, but they have no weapons and armor, so most of them can only rely on the mountains and fields to fight; the Central Plains are full of rioters. They have a large number of people and armor, but most of them are imperial guards who have been defeated in front of the Jin people. They dare not fight the Jin people at all, but can only cause trouble to the local area... If it weren't for this, with Li Boxi's courage to fight, he would not let the emperor go to Nanyang. Going to Nanyang is to hope to connect with the northwest there and bring the 200,000 Western Army into his hands."
"I understand." Zhao Jiu sighed slightly. This was very similar to what he knew, so it should be the truth. "If we really want to fight against the Jin, we need the financial resources of Jiangnan and Bashu, the troops of the northwest, and the morale of all places. Is that what you mean?"
"yes."
"You advised me to go to Yangzhou because Yangzhou is the starting point of the canal and the node for the transportation of financial resources from the southeast. Do you want to use this as a foundation and slowly build up your plan?"
"yes."
"But I want to go south, how can I defend the Central Plains?"
"I will appoint Zong as the governor of Tokyo, and send another general to the Taishan and Yishui areas..."
"If the main force of the Jin army suddenly attacks, can they hold on?" Zhao Jiu raised his eyebrows slightly. Faced with real difficulties, he no longer had the complacency he had last night.
“…”
"I understand." Zhao Jiu adjusted his mentality slightly and managed to keep a normal expression. "What if the Jin army ignores the two and goes directly from Nanjing to Bozhou, all the way south to pursue the emperor?"
"We will defend the Huai River and wait for reinforcements from all directions, and then we will use the Tokyo and Shandong routes to flank them from behind."
"If the Huai River cannot be defended, and Shandong and Tokyo cannot be relied upon, what then?"
"Abandon Yangzhou, go south of the Yangtze River, and guard the Yangtze River."
"What if the Yangtze River cannot be defended?"
Lu Haowen remained silent again.
"I understand." Zhao Jiu sighed slightly. "There is something I need to tell Master Lu. Although I am fine after falling into the well, I have forgotten some things during my illness, which has caused people in the court to be uneasy... So Mr. Lu, don't go to Xuanzhou. Restore your position as Shangshu Youcheng and stay here for consultation. I also want to use your qualifications to appease people."
Kang Lu, who had been silent all this time, looked up in surprise and instinctively wanted to interrupt, but suddenly realized that although the two people in the hall had similar positions, they were not his political allies at all. According to the rules, he, a eunuch, had no right to speak at this time.
Of course, after experiencing the turmoil of the previous two days, Kang Lu was no longer so demanding. Although Lu Haowen was honest, he was a person who supported moving south. What else could he do?
Therefore, Officer Kang immediately shut up and somewhat realized why the emperor had been so confident yesterday... It was ridiculous for a minister to want to compete with the emperor for power.
On the other side, Lu Haowen hesitated for a moment and wanted to decline according to the rules.
"The country is ruined and the family is ruined. It would be pedantic to learn to decline three times at this time." Zhao Jiu naturally understood what the other party meant, so he said directly. "In the future, such appointments can be made if you can, and cannot be made if you can't... The country is in ruins and the court is in exile. We are the core of the country, but we are here to put on a show. Little do we know that the paper and ink wasted by declining and declining can save several lives in the chaos if we exchange them for money and food."
This is a moral kidnapping of a gentleman of morality, and the kidnapped Lü Haowen dared not say much, he could only bow his head and obey orders, and then Kang Lu did not dare to neglect it , and quickly sent a message to ask another reliable Hanlin scholar to write the order in the wing room... After making this summons, the mood of Kang Daguan became more and more depressed. The system of the Song Dynasty is here. If the government wants to demand power, what can people like them do to resist? Only in the past few days, he colluded with the prime minister and had power in his hands. When Kang Daguan thought that he would no longer be able to hold this power in the future, he could only feel heartbroken.
"Mr. Lu...Mr. Lu, please sit down." Zhao Jiu was relieved to see that the other party had accepted the order. When he looked at the other person, he basically had no more thoughts. "Censor Zhang..."
"I would like to make a private comment!"
Zhang Jun, the Palace Censor who was about thirty years old and had been standing still, was someone Zhao Jiu had never counted on. Suddenly, he did something that caught everyone off guard.
"What does private recital mean?" Zhao Jiu was confused for a moment after coming to his senses. "Isn't this private recital?"
"Reporting to your majesty." Lu Haowen, who had just sat down, stood up immediately. "There are many precedents of prime ministers and censors making private reports, either impeaching the prime minister, holding ministers accountable, or recommending key figures... I'll take my leave."
"Why do we need to make a private report on this?" Zhao Jiu came to his senses, and smiled softly while being alert in his heart. "Not to mention that there are not many people here, and Prime Minister Lu is a suitable person. I have also heard of Zhang Qing's name. It is said that Prime Minister Li Boji was dismissed twice because of your impeachment. Yesterday, you also wanted to punish Prime Minister Li. The fierceness of your words left a deep impression on me..."
"If not, how can I see the emperor?" In private, without even bringing an ivory tablet, the young Zhang Jun raised his head and said with his hands clasped. "That's all... Your Majesty, I, the Imperial Censor Zhang Jun, impeach the Prime Minister Huang Qianshan, the Prime Minister Wang Boyan, and the Imperial Household Department's Chief Kang Lu for isolating the inner and outer worlds and having ill intentions; I request that you recall the Grand Secretary of Guanwen Hall Li Gang and the Tokyo Governor Zong Ze; I request that you recall the various commanders of the imperial camp and temporarily return to the imperial court to calm people's hearts."
The whole hall was in complete silence. Official Kang was trembling with fear, and even our Emperor Zhao was stunned... Are there so many smart people?
