Volume 1 Chapter 8: The Final Kill
After Yang Yizhong turned against the government, according to a certain official's clever idea of seizing power, he should have been able to advance and retreat in moderation, and with his wisdom, he overcame many obstacles with courage and perseverance, and finally gained the initiative in the court step by step with careful arrangements. It took him several months to finally take control of the government before Jin Wushu decided to go south. Then, everyone worked together to build a strong defense in Tokyo, and for about a year, they succeeded in defending it, and finally achieved a brilliant victory, thus saving the Central Plains, and history also opened a new page...
However, before any difficulties or obstacles were even seen or spoken, these loyal ministers or smart people jumped out one after another!
Yang Yizhong at least said something about national hatred and family feuds that time, but this time he really didn’t say anything!
"Mr. Zhang, when Prime Minister Li was dismissed from his post twice, it was you who impeached him most fiercely..." Seeing that Kang Lu was finally unable to control his strength and fell to his knees in the hall, Zhao Jiu came to his senses and composed his words a little.
After hearing these words, Kang Lu, who was crawling on the ground, stopped trembling.
It was only at this moment that Kang Daguan, who had been the "Prime Minister" for almost ten days, finally woke up from his dream. It turned out that under the imperial system of the Song Dynasty, once he was separated from the emperor and the prime minister, he could not even deal with an imperial censor! At this moment, Kang Daguan had no doubt that as long as the "changed" emperor sitting in the hall gave the order, Yang Yizhong, who had been holding an umbrella for him and even standing by when he washed his feet, would drag him out directly, and send two people like Xue Chao and Dong Ba to exile him to Shamen Island that day.
In order to cover up Yang Yi's ugly behavior, he might even be beaten to death on the road and then his body would be destroyed.
And in this process, what frightened people the most was not the possible death, but the fact that he, a "prime minister within ten days", had no means of coping and could only rely on "God's grace".
"It's a different time now." Zhang Jun stood up straight, still calm. "In your Majesty's eyes, and even in the eyes of those thieves who separated the inside and the outside, I have always been against Li Xianggong, and it seems that it is a public and private grudge, and it is irreconcilable. Therefore, I changed my mind today, which shows that I am a mean person..."
The whole hall was still unusually quiet, with only this Palace Censor raising his voice in protest.
"However, in my opinion, although I have changed my mind, it is not for political or personal disputes, but because of my different state of mind before and after." Zhang Jun spoke eloquently, as if he had been prepared. "I was an orphan at the age of four, and since then I have not known how to lie, so I am well-known in the village. At the age of 22, I passed the imperial examination and entered the officialdom, and it was still the same... During the Jingkang period, I impeached Li Gang for the first time because I saw that he lost his army in the capital. According to my personal temperament, I said what I meant and impeached him according to the system; and after the Jingkang period, I was in Tokyo and personally witnessed the sharpness of swords and axes, the shock of the country's destruction, and the sorrow of the chaos. Only then did I realize that in the overall situation, some things must be prioritized. In order to maintain the overall situation, sometimes you have to tolerate filth and endure for the country."
Zhao Jiu was slightly moved, but still did not comment. However, Lu Haowen could not help but glance at Zhang Jun, but it was just a glance.
"When I arrived at the imperial court, Your Majesty wanted to appoint Li Xianggong as prime minister. My good friends Fan Zongyin and Song Qiyu were counselors at the time, and they both thought it was not a good idea and made some suggestions. Although I had a personal grudge against Li Xianggong, I did not say a word, but advised these people not to cause trouble. Later, when Li Xianggong took office, Fan Zongyin was demoted and Song Qiyu was killed. I hated him very much, but I still did not attack him as a censor... Because I knew that at that time, the country was destroyed and the family was ruined. It would be impossible to win over the people and rebuild the court without a tyrannical prime minister like Li Boxi."
"Later, Li Boji achieved success and the court was re-established. The situation had stabilized, but he repeatedly disrespected Your Majesty, acted domineeringly, and appointed his personal associates. There was even a tendency to reverse the priorities. At that time, although I almost completely agreed with his political views, I could not tolerate his disregard for Your Majesty's authority, so I impeached him..."
"Wait a minute..." Zhao Jiu suddenly asked. "What political views do you share with Mr. Li?"
"Your Majesty!" Zhang Jun responded sternly. "I have endured humiliation and lived here in Tokyo. I have already made up my mind: First, the Jin people are barbaric, cunning and fickle. We must not make peace with them! Second, Hebei and Hedong are the foundation of the country. We must not abandon them lightly! Third, although Jiangnan is rich, once we rely on it, it will inevitably be a partial peace. We must go to Guanzhong to take the strong troops from the northwest and control the manpower of the Central Plains. Only in this way can we clean up the situation and restore the country! Your Majesty, ask these three things once, and I will answer them once. Ask ten times and I will answer them ten times. I will never change my mind just because of personal grudges with anyone!"
Zhao Jiu was speechless for a moment.
"As for now." Zhang Jun talked about his political strategy, shocking both Emperor Zhao and Prime Minister Lu on the spot, and then continued to talk about his "this time and that time". "Now your majesty has fallen into a well and got injured, forgotten about human affairs, and has been isolated by treacherous ministers. The heir is only one month old and doesn't even have a title... At this time, after your majesty has dealt with the treacherous thieves Huang, Wang, Kang, etc., if there is a little disorder in his behavior, the prestige of the central government will be destroyed, and then people's hearts will be unstable. If your majesty wants to maintain the authority of the emperor and regain people's hearts, it must be Li Gang, Zong Ze and other tough ministers!"
At this point, Zhang Jun looked at Lu Haowen who was sitting aside, still with a stern attitude: "As for Prime Minister Lu, as your majesty has arranged this time, with Prime Minister Lu's gentlemanly talent and virtue, he can be a deputy for consultation and to calm people's hearts, but he cannot be entrusted to the court at this time of turmoil."
Lu Haowen immediately stood up and bowed to Zhao Jiu, not knowing whether he agreed or disagreed.
Zhao Jiu was at a loss as to what to do. He thought for half a day before realizing something. He couldn't help but chuckle, "After talking for so long, Zhang Qing actually first identified the crime of separating Huang Xianggong and Kang Daguan from the inside and outside, and then he said to recall Li Xianggong and Zong Liushou?"
Zhang Jun remained unafraid and asked proudly, "If Your Majesty does not think that these people have been isolating the inside and outside in recent days, given Your Majesty's favor towards these old ministers, why are you asking about this matter now?"
Zhao Jiu was speechless, Lu Haowen was horrified, Kang Lu said nothing but kowtowed repeatedly, and even Yang Yizhong, who was standing inside the palace gate, did not change his expression.
It was at this moment that the incompetence of Zhao Jiu, an ordinary student, was revealed. If you asked him to share weal and woe and humble himself to win people's hearts, he could do it. If you asked him to use some small tricks like in TV dramas, he could do it easily. But if you really asked him to order a punishment... especially since he knew very well that the crime of isolating the inside and the outside was a serious crime no matter where it happened, and it might even result in loss of life... when the time came, he hesitated.
"I just fell into a well, and the prime ministers arranged eunuchs and imperial guards to cover me. They might not have bad intentions." When he thought of this, Zhao Jiu, as if possessed by some ingenious device, started to cover for those people.
Upon hearing these words suddenly, Kang Lu, who had been tense for half a day, almost collapsed to the ground.
"We will know if they have bad intentions after checking." Zhang Jun was definitely well prepared. "Your Majesty, please summon all the ministers and check the memorials to see if any civil or military memorials were intercepted by these traitors! If so, that will be their crime; if not, I am the one who has stirred up trouble and slandered the prime minister without authorization!"
Zhao Jiu and Lu Haowen who wanted to speak were completely speechless, while Kang Lu's emotions were so mixed that he almost collapsed.
It was nothing. Emperor Zhao, who had just come into contact with the Song Dynasty system, might need some time to figure out the ins and outs of it. But the experienced official Kang knew that Zhang Jun's final blow was like a decisive blow on the Cuju field, which basically declared the political death of him and that small group. Even when things developed to this point, Emperor Zhao could no longer control the direction of the future...
In fact, as Yang Yizhong hinted before, the political system of the Song Dynasty is here, the political functions of the censors and Hanlin scholars are here, connected to the prime minister, eunuchs, the Privy Council, and the Imperial Camp, one link after another. Emperor Zhao is neither stupid nor crazy, and it is nothing short of a fantasy for the prime minister and eunuchs to join forces to control the Forbidden City.
Even if Emperor Zhao was really stupid, they would have to have Concubine Pan carrying the royal heir to appear before they could have a chance of success.
Back to the present, what makes Official Kang even more indignant is that, now that things have developed to this point, Wang Yuan and Yang Yizhong might be pardoned because they are "rude warriors", Huang Qianshan and Wang Boyan might just be expelled because they are prime ministers, but he, Official Kang, might be killed or exiled to Shamen Island because he is just a eunuch... because he originally had the favor of the emperor, but this favor disappeared without a trace ten days ago!
The day before yesterday, he was the internal minister who held great power and was almost on par with the prime minister; yesterday he was still confident of victory and thought everything was under control; today, an impeachment by an imperial censor in front of a deputy prime minister could cost him his life!
This is the political game of the old days.
Zhao Jiu had already figured out the reasons behind this, but he remained silent because he began to further weigh and analyze the situation in his mind:
At this point, first of all, he wanted to keep Zhang Jun! And he wanted to employ Zhang Jun! Because no matter if it was speculation or sincerity, this was the first serious minister who publicly made a political declaration against the Jin Dynasty to him. For this, he was mentally prepared to tolerate Li Gang's domineering behavior, not to mention that he was a smart man who was good at guessing his own intentions?
Fighting against the Jin is the most important task and the core contradiction!
Secondly, if he retained Zhang Jun, it would be difficult for him to stop the attack launched by Zhang Jun this time, and in this case, he would have to protect Yang Yizhong. By the same token, even if the "national hatred and family feud" was fake, this Yang family general was his reliance for personal safety at this time.
However, at the same time, Zhao Jiu had to worry about one person, and that was the official Kang Lukang who was now slumped on the ground in a daze... At this moment, it was not just a simple matter that a modern man did not dare to kill anyone. He also had to worry about whether this person would get any evidence against him when he came out of the well. What was Yang Yizhong's attitude towards this person?
Thinking of this, Zhao Jiu couldn't help but look up at Yang Yizhong who was standing inside the palace gate...but unexpectedly, at this moment, the other party was also staring at him nervously.
The king and his minister stared at each other for a while. While both sides were still guessing each other's intentions in silence, Kang Lu on the ground noticed this scene, and then completely lost his composure, and turned over and kowtowed:
"Everyone, don't trust Yang Yizhong and Zhang Jun. They are the same kind of people. On the surface, they are righteous, but in fact, they are just flattering villains! They are just pretending to be so because they see that Your Majesty has changed his mind! Let everyone know that Zhang Jun is in Tokyo and is afraid of death. When the country is destroyed, he can't die for his loyalty, so he can only hide in the Imperial College and pretend to be dead! Yang Yizhong treats me with great respect in private, and even stands by when I wash my feet! How can you trust such a villain?!"
Zhao Jiu heard this and made up his mind, so he waved to Yang Yizhong. Seeing the clear instructions, Yang Yizhong, who was also determined, did not dare to neglect it, and went forward to hold down Kang Lu, who was not sure what to say, and then pretended to drag him out of the hall.
The man was pinned down, and Kang Lu came to his senses. He was almost in tears, and he forced himself to kowtow to the Emperor Zhao who was sitting in the hall, wailing: "Everyone, save me, I was confused! I only ask that you let me stay by your side, and I will never be greedy for power again!"
Zhao Jiu instinctively opened his mouth to speak, but in the end he held it back. Instead, he winked at Yang Yi Zhong again, intending for him to take the person away quickly.
Seeing this scene, let alone what Yang Yizhong thought, Kang Lu completely collapsed. He did not plead with Emperor Zhao who was sitting in the palace, but grabbed the corner of Lu Haowen's clothes and said absurd words:
"Mr. Lu! It's not that our family is isolated from the outside world, but that everyone is really possessed by some evil spirit!"
Lu Haowen was stunned, while Yang Yizhong actually drew his knife in panic.
"Let him talk!" Zhao Jiu suddenly said. "I want to know what happened that day, too!"
Kang Lu turned back angrily after hearing this, but he was still furious: "Now that things have come to this, what is there to be afraid of? That day in the well, we saw something at the bottom of the well, it looked like a dog but not a dog, it looked like a raccoon but not a raccoon, so we lowered our heads to look, but in a flash the monster disappeared, and we fell into the well and became unconscious. After waking up half a day later, we seemed to be a different person! Mr. Huang and the others all said that I was dazzled, but I, who always followed them, knew that we were really replaced by a monster!"
Zhao Jiu in the palace heard this and sighed as if he was relieved. He then casually said something he had prepared in his heart for a long time: "Sir, we have known each other for so many years. I accepted your request and went to Yangzhou to enjoy the wealth and honor together. I was a wise man. I decided to organize the defense and stayed in the north to fight against the Jin army. I became a raccoon demon and a dog demon... Why did it come to this between us?"
Hearing this, not only Zhang Jun glanced coldly at Kang Lu, but even Lu Haowen glared at him angrily: "Kang Lu, are you so cruel and crazy?!"
Kang Lu was extremely terrified, but he had no other choice but to let go and let the two squads catch up and take him down completely. Yang Yizhong was also completely relieved and looked at Emperor Zhao.
"I wanted to spare his life!" Zhao Jiu hesitated for a moment, raised his hand helplessly and said softly.
Yang Yizhong understood, but did something that caught Zhao Jiu off guard - he already had a knife in his hand, and having received the order, he did not wait for Kang Lu to say anything, and directly stabbed the officer Kang in the back of the neck between two squad leaders in front of everyone.
For a moment, blood splattered every five steps and the whole hall was filled with a bloody smell.
However, except for Zhao Jiu who was extremely shocked, all the others in the hall, including the two civil officials Lu Haowen and Zhang Jun, did not say anything.
Zhao Jiu's mind was blank, but an instinctive thought still arose: these people must have seen more cruel, more direct, and larger-scale killings and violence, otherwise they would not be so calm... He is still far from being able to integrate into this era!
