Volume 2 Chapter 58 Random Thoughts
Wanqi Xie is certainly a despicable person...there is no doubt about that.
Well, if there was anything to blame, it was that this person's name was too conspicuous and too easy to remember. So even though Zhao Jiu couldn't remember Du Chong and Zhang Jun, he noticed this person's name from the beginning, otherwise he would not have sent this person to Dongting Lake.
So back to the present, this person spoke righteously later, just like a loyal minister who had no choice but to do his duty... But Emperor Zhao instinctively realized that this was a great opportunity for this Wanqi Canjun to overthrow the obstacle to his promotion in the Privy Council, and he could not bear it any longer.
In essence, this guy was still reporting on his immediate superior and colleague, stirring up trouble, and using this perfect opportunity to plant a thorn in Emperor Zhao's heart against Liu Ziyu.
Zhao Jiu was even certain that if Liu Ziyu had not recently been appointed to the prestigious position of Chief Secretary of the Privy Council as a reward for his merits, thus arousing Wanqi Xie's jealousy, this 'Deputy Chief Secretary' would definitely not have come.
As the deputy secretary-general of the Privy Council, of course he wanted to become the secretary-general, just like Wang De, who was the deputy commander-in-chief, always wanted to become the commander-in-chief. It is understandable.
In short, what Wanqi Xie certainly didn't know was that his actions actually planted a thorn in the side of the government.
However, the problem lies in this "also"... Because Zhao Jiu almost instantly figured it out that what Wanqi Xie reported might not be a foul play.
It may be that Liu Ziyu really had selfish motives, so he deliberately erased the presence of the Hebei rebels from the very beginning, because Ma Kuo was imprisoned at the time when Liu Ziyu and his son were actually in charge of the anti-Jin affairs of Zhending Prefecture... In other words, the personal grudge between the two was undoubted.
In fact, Ma Kuo was released by the Jin army. He was a diplomatic envoy to the Jin Kingdom and had a close relationship with the highest level of the Jin Kingdom.
So the matter is so absurd. The hero who was later proved to be willing to abandon his family and career to fight against the Jin Dynasty to the end was thrown into prison by his colleagues who had the same correct anti-Jin stance, but was released and treated well by the enemy.
This obvious fact made Zhao Jiu feel tired.
Because he knew in his heart that this was destined to be another incident that would not have a happy ending. Morally, of course, you can accuse Liu Ziyu of selfishness and harming the country, but morally speaking, you can't prove that he really did such a thing, and he was not the only one who ignored the Hebei Volunteer Army.
Even though Liu Ziyu might have personal grudges, it was possible that he truly thought that the Hebei rebels were trash just because of them.
And the most important thing is that this is a war, the enemy and us have clear positions. Ma Kuo is the front-line anti-Jin commander in Hebei, so isn't Liu Ziyu also anti-Jin? He is the actual host of the daily work of the base camp.
This kind of thing cannot be dealt with or discussed, otherwise it will only make our loved ones sad and our enemies happy.
A similar situation was the dispute in the palace today. The dispute between the military technicians and those who uphold justice was completely irrelevant... Do you really have to determine who is right and who is wrong?
If we really have to distinguish right from wrong, Hu Yin and Li Guang are definitely the ones who made mistakes today, but they have always had the same position. Hu Yin had openly proposed that Zhao Gou should not succeed to the throne, but should cross the river to the north and fight to the death in person to welcome back the two saints... Although such words are ridiculous, they represent the retro-styled ideas of respecting the king and expelling the barbarians among the Confucian officials, and are very useful. Emperor Zhao needs to use this gesture to control and suppress the so-called "mature" among the Confucian officials, so Hu Yin is the one that Emperor Zhao must protect.
As for Li Gang behind Li Guang...
To be honest, Li Gang had too many problems. Not only was he incompetent in military affairs, but he was also not an isolated case of having a direct conflict with Li Yanxian, the most outstanding general on the front line. It can only be said that he did a poor .
This can be seen from the fact that in the early days of Jianyan, Li Gang and Zong Ze clearly formed the basic base of the pro-war faction to fight against the pro-peace faction represented by Huang Qianshan and Wang Boyan, but they were quickly defeated in the end... Of course, it was because Emperor Zhao Gou personally took action at that time, but looking back now, it was not entirely true.
The biggest problem was that Wang Boyan, who was in favor of peace at that time, just followed the crowd, so Huang Qianshan basically held all the power and dominated the peace faction. In other words, the peace faction was closely united.
As for Li Gang, although he was the undisputed leader and had the expectations of the whole world, he was simply unable to unite everyone and form a powerful political faction.
The fact that Li Gang was demoted and Zong Ze said nothing is a clear proof of this... The two had huge differences in their perceptions of the emperor. Zong Ze obviously took into account the peace-loving nature of Emperor Zhao, so he used a more drastic method to force the central government, but Li Gang believed that Zong Ze's actions instead affected his authority in the central government.
Until later, when Zhao Jiu came, Li Gang had already been demoted and then formally recalled. The two should have learned from their mistakes and united as one, but it was not until Li Gang came to the emperor and reiterated his political program that Zong Ze stopped talking about returning to Tokyo. This was vaguely discordant.
Not only that, Zong Ze has always been the main attacker. He was still contacting the Hebei volunteer army just before the Jin army launched a large-scale attack. However, Li Gang always believed that they should stabilize the situation first, hold on, and then counterattack.
In fact, it is impossible to verify who is right or wrong on these issues, it is just a matter of being more radical or more moderate.
But the problem is that Li Gang, as the unquestionable leader, was unable to restrain Zong Ze, and he has been in conflict with so many pro-war factions until now, which is very embarrassing.
So back to the present, is Li Gang a traitor, or is Zong Ze a traitor? Is Yue Fei a traitor, or is Li Yanxian a traitor? Is Hu Yin a traitor, or is Hu Hongxiu a traitor? Is Ma Kuo a traitor, or is Liu Ziyu a traitor?
Neither. From the perspective of traditional morality, Emperor Zhao could only conclude that Wanqi Xie, who came to reveal the truth, was a traitor.
As for the rest.
Li Gang was the banner of the pro-war faction and the hope of the world. Only when he sat in the position of prime minister did everyone believe that the court was determined to resist the war.
Zong Ze was the actual front-line leader of the pro-war faction. The Tokyo Garrison, which he personally established, simply occupied half of the current anti-Jin forces.
Not to mention Yue Fei and Li Yanxian, these two were heroes who were willing to fight against the Jin army no matter what, even if it meant humiliation and enduring heavy burdens... They were the most determined and capable anti-Jin generals of this era.
The positions of Hu Yin and Hu Hongxiu are also beyond doubt.
Even Liu Ziyu, who was suspected of disregarding the overall situation and had a fierce conflict with Li Gang and Hu Yin, who can say that his anti-Jin stance is unstable?
His father died in the Jingkang War, and his brother's family was killed by the Jin people, leaving only one person. This is a national hatred and family feud!
But these people are definitely not united. They are competitors, opponents , or even political perpetrators and victims.
This is politics, this is reality, and this is the naked history that erases the wishful thinking of anti-Golden God dramas.
It was also because Emperor Zhao suddenly felt tired.
Normally, he could still barely mediate and suppress the situation, but with the invasion of the Jin army and the overall pressure, he felt a little overwhelmed in the face of these conflicts.
What can one's own government do? And how should one do it?
"Everyone!"
Just as Zhao Jiuli was daydreaming in the snow, someone suddenly called out from behind him.
Zhao Jiu recognized the voice without turning around: "Officer Lan, what's the matter?"
"Everyone." Lan Gui looked at them carefully. "The two ministers and the ministers in the palace are still waiting."
"Let them go today. Report to me if there is any serious military intelligence." Zhao Jiu raised his hand but did not look back, because he knew he must be exhausted at this moment.
"Yes!" Lan Gui hurried away.
But soon, when Emperor Zhao was still standing in the snow-covered field full of tree stumps, thinking about something, Official Lan came back, and this time he brought Liu Ziyu, the Chief Secretary of the Privy Council, with Yang Yi Zhong.
"Your Majesty." Liu Ziyu bowed, but did not say anything nonsense, and got straight to the point. "Just now, the Privy Council delivered military intelligence, which was sent by Du Chong, the new deputy governor of Tokyo..."
Zhao Jiu suddenly perked up: "What did you say? Did you talk about Zong Liushou's condition? Have you sent troops?"
Liu Ziyu shook his head repeatedly: "Sir, these reports may have been intercepted by the Jin army, how could they say this? Even this report is just some incredible theories to cover up."
Zhao Jiu suddenly realized what was going on, and then asked seriously, "What's going on?"
"Deputy Governor Du said that after receiving the imperial edict, he immediately sent a messenger to summon 20,000 soldiers from the Taihang Mountains in Hebei Province, preparing to have them cross the river to come to our aid. By then, they will have more troops and can go south to gather up those defeated soldiers..." Liu Ziyu sighed when he said this. "Your Majesty, please forgive me for speaking frankly. Deputy Governor Du is just afraid and is deliberately delaying the matter ."
"What do you mean?" Zhao Jiu's expression remained unchanged, but his tone was a little puzzled.
"The Eight Characters Army has been in Hebei for a year. Although they are famous, they have never won a battle. How can they be used?" Liu Ziyu also looked tired . "Although the Yellow River is frozen now, it is convenient to travel, but Nianhan is in Daming Prefecture, and Yelu Mawu is in Zhongmu. The Eight Characters Army can only go south through the narrow gaps in Yangwu and Suanzao... This group of volunteers has no fighting power. Do they have the courage to do this? Aren't they afraid of being exposed in the wild and being attacked by the Jin army? As for Deputy Governor Du, he was originally the governor of Daming Prefecture and transferred to the prefect of Dongjing. He knows the situation of the Hebei volunteers better than anyone else, but he insists on waiting for the Eight Characters Army. He is just deceiving himself and delaying the dispatch of troops! If he delays until Changsha City is broken and Han Taiwei is defeated, he will have no responsibility."
Zhao Jiu remained silent, but could only nod slightly: "I understand, you can go... There is only one thing, Li Xianggong is the public minister, Hu Yin is the chief censor, although they are not familiar with military affairs, but you can point it out, don't deliberately attack them. With a powerful enemy at hand, we must guard against disrupting the morale of the army."
Liu Ziyu was silent for a moment, then he said "I have received your order" and bowed to take his leave.
As they were a hundred miles apart, we will not mention this matter for now and just say that the next day, the Song army sent a small force out of the city to the southeast to support Zhang Jing, but the Jin army really did sit idly by.
For a moment, the city was completely excited. More than one person requested to go to war, and even the generals in the army were interested. Wang De asked for permission to attack Zhang Yu's camp in the east of the city.
This plan was also approved by several military officers of the Privy Council... Of course, the reasons of these military officers were different from those of the others. They believed that the Jin army was deliberately indulging themselves, so they focused on the word "testing".
Of course it’s better if we win!
But if we lose, it will also serve as a wake-up call for the people in the city!
Emperor Zhao hesitated for a long time, and finally agreed to this plan.
