Volume 2 Chapter 77: Harmony between the Left and the Right (Part 2)
After the war, we need to reward people for their merits, take inventory of our assets, reorganize our troops, summarize lessons, and decide on the next response strategy... Some things cannot be rushed, and some things cannot be delayed.
Among these, the most obvious and urgent things are rewards and reorganization.
Needless to say, reorganization is imperative. For example, it is imperative to fully reorganize the Tokyo Resident Office into the Imperial Camp system. Even after Zong Ze's death, this matter has become Zhao Jiu's top priority. He must handle this matter properly and decently. However, this matter will inevitably infringe on the interests of a lot of people, and it is the most substantial and serious issue at present.
As for the reward, it is the prerequisite for reorganization and even a series of things to come.
Although it was unlikely, Emperor Zhao definitely did not want to end up like Zhong Shizhong... Just because there were not enough silver bowls for rewards, the soldiers "became angry and dispersed", and then Zhong Shizhong was immediately defeated and killed.
To this end, as early as when the Song army surrounded Luoyang, Zhao Jiu issued an imperial decree, requiring Xiangyang and Nanyang to use all the surplus money in the treasury and a considerable amount of stored grain for military use. Then, when the war was over and news came from Hebei that more than half of the Jin army had dispersed on the spot and the rest had gone to Yanjing, Zhao Jiu immediately gathered the army and officers and prepared to reward them according to their merits.
These things are natural, except that the place of Heyin is a bit unlucky.
Heyin is located at the junction of Zhengzhou and Mengzhou, and is an important town on the south bank of the Yellow River. Not only is it adjacent to the Bianhe River and the Yellow River, it is also located at the center of Han Shizhong's previous deployment of defenses on the Yellow River. This location, in terms of transportation, is indeed convenient for the gathering of military generals, bureaucrats, and troops from Nanyang, Dongjing, and Xijing.
However, although it is convenient, this area became famous all over the world because of Erzhu Rong's "Heyin Incident"... More than 2,000 princes and ministers of the Northern Wei Dynasty were massacred. The history books clearly stated that "under Heyin, the ground was covered with corpses."
The ministers who rushed here from Nanyang and Xiangyang certainly did not suspect that Emperor Zhao was going to carry out a massacre, but they could not help but wonder if Emperor Zhao had ulterior motives or hints. Because at this time, Emperor Zhao's series of actions after escaping from Nanyang had already been revealed. Whether it was deceiving all the ministers in Nanyang and Xiangyang when he escaped that day, or killing Du Chong with an axe when he seized the military power in Yanling, or personally leading the army to fight, these ministers felt a little uneasy.
However, when they heard that Emperor Zhao had returned to the old capital and presented Zong Liushou with the poem "Qing Yu'an", these people somewhat relaxed... because these two things were done in a way that showed the behavior of a wise ruler.
In fact, it is no wonder that these people are so nervous and sensitive, because there is another irrefutable fact that as this battle ended in a way that was completely beyond everyone's expectations, looking back at the outcome of the Battle of Yanling of Emperor Zhao, although these people were suspicious, they had no intention or courage to resist from the beginning... In the words of Yan Xiaozhong when he was seeing off the officials going north, the officials' journey to the north this time seemed to be like "King Xiang defeated the Qin army and summoned the princes and generals. When they entered the gate, all of them knelt before him and no one dared to look up."
Of course, this inappropriate remark was severely criticized by the two Lu Xianggongs, because the government and the public are one, while King Xiang and the princes have their own agenda, how can they be the same? How can the governor of Nanyang Prefecture say such disunited words?
So Yan Xiaozhong shut up.
No matter how the people below imagined and how they schemed, in late February, as the troops and generals gradually gathered, the ministers and officials from Nanyang and Xiangyang also rushed to Zhengzhou. Emperor Zhao did not hesitate and immediately set out from Tokyo, raising the dragon flag and heading towards Heyin.
Along the way, more and more soldiers and horses coming from the east gathered along the way, and more and more generals followed. The rest of the people from the west and south also galloped their horses. The leading bureaucrats, ministers and generals arrived in Heyin first to wait for the emperor.
On February 23rd, Zhao Jiu arrived in Heyin.
Up to this point, Heyin had gathered 70,000 to 80,000 troops and dozens of commanders. Above the commanders were generals such as Han Shizhong, Li Yanxian, Zhang Jun, Wang Yan, Yue Fei, Wang De, and Lu Xing.
In addition, the four ministers Lu Haowen, Lu Yihao, Xu Jingheng, and Wang Boyan, as well as the Chief Censor, the heads of the six ministries, the Hanlin academicians, the provincial government, the Privy Council, the Censorate, and the Tokyo Garrison also arrived.
Even the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Imperial Guard, led by Yang Yi Zhong and Feng Yi, escorted Madam Wu to the scene, and Han Shizhong's Madam Liang also came along.
The civil and military officials gathered together. Not to mention that some of them were originally heading in the direction of the imperial carriage, on this morning, the civil and military officials in Heyin, led by four ministers, gathered together and went out of the city along the Bian River to welcome him...but because the emperor had issued an order earlier, they only went two or three miles out of the city and did not go far to welcome him.
Thanks to this, Han Shizhong even had time to set up a thatched hut here and make some arrangements.
At noon, Liu Yan, the deputy commander of the imperial guards, led the cavalry to arrive first, and then the dragon banner appeared in the distance. Then, the chief escort Lan Gui personally arrived here and delivered a message, saying that the civil and military officials were exempted from the formalities when they met on the roadside today, and the formalities would be performed at the banquet tomorrow. The elders, civil officials above the rank of chief officer of the six ministries, and military officers above the rank of commander could all sit down and wait... After everyone sat down according to their seniority, the slightly old dragon banner arrived in front of them in a moment, escorted by the personal soldiers of Wang Yan and Zhang Jun.
The dragon flag was raised, and generals Zhang Jun and Wang Yan, wearing armor and holding sharp weapons, led the officers from various departments to come out first. Then, Emperor Zhao, wearing a cowhide belt and a bright yellow imperial review uniform (a tattered piece of clothing that was searched out from the Tokyo Imperial City, convenient for riding), rode out on his horse. Behind him came the ministers who had accompanied him before, as well as the Tokyo Garrison's deputy governor Quan Bangyan, the judges and prosecutors, and a group of people.
Seeing this situation, although there was no need for grand ceremony, all the civil and military officials still stood up instinctively. On the one hand, they were thinking about how to face the emperor in order to manipulate the upcoming drama, while on the other hand, they were preparing to greet the emperor under the leadership of Prime Minister Lu.
Unexpectedly, just as Lu Haowen was leading the officials to set up their battle formations, before he could say anything, Emperor Zhao, who was still sitting on his horse, suddenly raised his voice with a solemn expression:
"No need to greet, I have a few important matters to discuss with you first..."
The people around were caught off guard and in a panic. Even Zhang Jun and others who came with Emperor Zhao looked at each other in bewilderment. Although the officials were very good at cultivating their qi, they were all awed when they heard the words, and thought to themselves that something was not good - because this was what the civil officials from the south were most worried about. They were most afraid that the emperor would rely on the power of a great victory to force trouble.
"Zhang Zizheng's matter has already been discussed and conferred a title in Nanyang, so I won't mention it anymore. But Lord Zong defended the capital alone and maintained it, which was a great contribution. Now he dies for the country, which can be said to be devoted to the country. I think he should be posthumously named Zhongwu and conferred the title of king to show his respect..." Zhao Jiu's face was serious, and he slowly turned to face him. "What do you think, the four ministers?"
Lu Haowen and the other three looked at each other helplessly. Even the desire to resist that had surged up before suddenly subsided... Can such a thing be refuted? And why should it be refuted? To refute the posthumous title of Prime Minister by Emperor Zhao? They are also Prime Ministers, okay?
In other words, even if one of them felt that the posthumous title of Zhongwu was too high and was a little jealous, could they not say it in this occasion? Even more insidiously, the two deputy privy envoys were waiting for this matter to be resolved quickly and to make it right quickly!
If there is any jealousy, it should only be felt by Prime Minister Li Gang, who is far away in the southeast and is still in a state of distress. They don't need it and don't have time to be jealous.
So, after the three people behind him nodded roughly, Lu Haowen took the lead and bowed: "Your Majesty is right. The merits, virtues, and deeds of Mr. Zong are worthy of loyalty and bravery, and he should be posthumously awarded the title of king."
Zhao Jiu nodded slightly, looked at the crowd of people in front of him, and continued:
"I'm sorry to bother you gentlemen with this matter... There is one more thing. This war involves a lot of people. No matter whether it is civil or military officials, the generals should all calculate their merits, distribute rewards, and promote them as soon as possible. I hope the provincial government and the Privy Council will quickly calculate and make a clear decision here as much as possible, so as not to make any mistakes or rash decisions."
This statement was a matter of course. Without even turning his head to look at the other three officials behind him, Lu Haowen quickly bowed his head and said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. We are here and are already working quickly to measure the amount..."
Zhao Jiu smiled and continued, "Speaking of measuring merit, it's fine for the commanders and those below to be promoted and given titles, but for those above the commander, the generals and governors of the prefectures, I have to make some general remarks in advance to avoid disputes over merit in the future..."
Lu Haowen was slightly startled, and blurted out: "Sir, please speak."
"It's actually quite simple." Zhao Jiu continued to smile and spoke loudly. "I think that if Han Shizhong hadn't held Changsha and Chen Gui hadn't defended Nanyang, the situation would have been irreversible. Moreover, Han Shizhong also made other contributions to the overall planning after leaving Changsha... These two people should be given first-class credit. Chen Gui should be the Minister of War and the Prefect of Kaifeng, and Han Shizhong should be the Junior Guardian and the Military Governor of a town! When you calculate their credit, you can't let these two people be rewarded in this way!"
Chen Gui and Han Shizhong, who were standing right behind the four gentlemen, breathed heavily at the same time, and could not hide their joy. Chen Gui was not a serious scholar, and Han Shizhong was just a rough man, so how could they hide it?
Although Lu Haowen and others were shocked by Emperor Zhao's sudden mention of such an important matter, unexpectedly, no one had any intention of refutation.
Because from a public point of view, Chen Gui and Han Shizhong, as the first civil and military meritorious officials in this war, did not have much to say. Before the war, they were also the highest-ranking civil officials and military generals ... From a private point of view, Zong Ze died and the position of the Privy Councilor was vacant. It should have been one of the two prime ministers who succeeded in taking the position and continued to maintain the balance of the situation between the four prime ministers in the East and West Palaces in front of the emperor. Therefore, they were actually a little worried that Chen Gui would take advantage of this battle to force his way into the game.
The prefect of Kaifeng is, of course, a good job, a job recognized by the world, but it is not as good as a prime minister... Chen Gui, who comes from a poor family, doesn't even know that he has been sold out by the government?
With this thought in mind, the four gentlemen not only had no reason to object, but some of them felt that this arrangement made by Emperor Zhao was very much to their liking, and they even had the intention of showing goodwill... However, everyone was an acquaintance, and the gentlemen also had some idea of who Emperor Zhao was.
Therefore, after these gentlemen were ready to accept Emperor Zhao's goodwill, they became even more vigilant, in case Emperor Zhao would take advantage of the victory to force some messy things.
However, just as Lu Haowen was about to respond, Emperor Zhao continued speaking:
"Under Chen and Han, if Li Yanxian had not advanced to Hedong and separated the east and west battlefields, people would have been depressed at that time; if Ma Kuo had not fought the Jin army in Hebei, they would have been caught off guard at that time; if Zhang Jun had not come to Nanjing and controlled Bozhou, the eastern line would have been completely ruined; if Yue Fei and Wang Yan had not risen up to help me punish Du Chong, rise up in Yanling, and attack Talan, this battle would never have been reversed... These five people, if they don't have Jiedushi, should be promoted to Jiedushi, and if they have Jiedushi, they should be promoted to Shaobao to show their favor!"
The four gentlemen looked at each other, still without saying a word, because this matter sounded more like forcing a tone on several generals.
If there is something wrong, it is that Emperor Zhao seems to want to forcibly elevate Yue Fei, who is only 26 or 27 years old, and then highlight the feeling of the Hebei Volunteer Army. So as long as Zhang Jun and Li Yanxian do not make trouble and Wang De does not disobey, there should be no problem.
In fact, Li Yanxian, who was standing behind Han Shizhong, and Zhang Jun, who was riding a horse beside Emperor Zhao, did not say anything extra. Wang De did not say a word in the distance. After seeing this scene, almost all four ministers realized that Emperor Zhao was indeed relying on his power today, but it was not directed at them. On the contrary, it was directed at these people. He even wanted the four ministers to sell out the old rules and suppress these military generals with problems for him.
However, now it seems that the battle of Yanling was indeed fierce, and there was no need for them to beat the gong.
"The last thing, I have thought about it again and again. Since we have returned to the old capital and Zong Liushou has passed away, there is no need to set up a special Tokyo Liushou Division. The troops of the Tokyo Liushou Division and the troops of Shanzhou, Xijing and other places should be unified and returned to the imperial camp."
Zhao Jiu withdrew his gaze from the general behind Han Shizhong and in front of Yue Fei, and with a little relief, he continued to announce. "The Tokyo Garrison will be organized into the front army of the imperial camp, with Yue Fei as the commander-in-chief. The troops of Xijing and Shanzhou will be organized into the central army of the imperial camp, with Li Yanxian as the commander-in-chief... Does anyone have anything to say?"
Most people remained silent, but when Lu Haowen noticed that someone had tugged at his clothes, he immediately stepped out of the line and spoke calmly:
"Good instructor, I know that both the East and West Prefectures think this is a very appropriate matter, and they don't have much to say!"
No one interrupted the emperor and the prime minister, so after a moment, after making sure that no one objected, Zhao Jiu smiled as usual and nodded: "In that case, let's go into the city... Thank you for your hard work, gentlemen!"
