Volume 2 Chapter 79: Combing Up and Down (Part 1)
Parading the troops and distributing rewards is undoubtedly a strenuous job.
From the high-ranking officials, ministers, and generals to the lower-ranking soldiers, everyone works very hard because everyone has to do a lot of repetitive work.
Of course, the soldiers below might feel better because they received real gold and silver rewards.
Relatively speaking, from Emperor Zhao's perspective, he should have had some spiritual satisfaction or some kind of compensation... For example, tens of thousands of victorious troops shouted "Long live the emperor" in unison, and the emperor rode his horse sideways along the banks of the Bian and Huang rivers, feeling heroic. As the saying goes, life is like this, what else can one ask for... This is nonsense!
To be honest, having experienced so many battlefields, especially having seen the scene of the Battle of Yanling where 70,000 to 80,000 troops launched a general offensive, Zhao Jiu didn't feel anything about this kind of military parade. After a whole morning and noon, he just felt tired.
The prime ministers, as well as officials from the provincial capitals and the Privy Council were in an even worse mood... because they were the ones who spent money, and seeing that the money was almost gone, everyone felt a little uneasy.
In fact, it stands to reason that the Song Dynasty must have money. The southeast, Jingxiang, Lianghuai , and Bashu were all saved, and the redundant officials and soldiers during the Jingkang Incident, as well as the waste of the royal family, were also solved by the Jurchens in disguise. According to past experience, as long as the transportation to the remaining places was connected, it would certainly be no problem to support the 200,000-strong army of the imperial camp... The two routes of Huainan alone cost millions of silk in a year. Is this false?
However, we must also see the current reality that Henan is empty and the southeast is not stable... If the southeast cannot be stabilized quickly, there will still be financial problems; as for Henan, to put it bluntly, it is a bottomless pit.
Therefore, after all the money and silk accumulated in Xiangyang and Nanyang were spent, people at all levels could not help but feel a little uneasy.
However, it must be said that this kind of uneasiness is essentially a kind of progress... When Emperor Zhao had people scrape off the Taoist golden body in Bozhou, and when all officials in Shunchang Prefecture shared two buckets of "Minister Jiang", they were at the end of their rope, but they didn't seem to have any uneasiness.
The current uneasiness is obviously because the Song Dynasty has regained the appearance of a formal court, and the specific troubles that have arisen from the idea of running a formal court.
As for the several ministers who caused a big commotion in front of the emperor last night, for some reason, they are more obedient than the others today.
Of course, there is also a lot of things that should be installed.
Han Shizhong, wearing a jade belt, with his chest and belly sticking out, was taken by the emperor to inspect the whole army, but he repeatedly stepped forward to help the emperor when Zhao got on and off his horse; Zhang Jun listened to someone's advice and actually gave half of the Shu brocade he received last night to reward his own troops who had worked hard in this battle; Li Yanxian had hung up the flag of "mainstay" early, and just now he sat under the flag like a wooden sculpture...
But Yue Fei, Wang Yan, Wang De and Lu Xing were just being honest.
Let me tell you, there is a reason for this.
According to what Emperor Zhao said in the south of the city after his arrival yesterday, although it has not yet been implemented, there is no doubt about the first three of these generals, and the ranking is clear.
Han Shizhong was the Grand Tutor and the Jiedushi of two towns, ranking first;
Zhang Jun was the Grand Tutor and the Jiedushi of a town, so he was obviously the second;
Li Yanxian was only a military governor of a town, but he also had the title of Yongxing Army General and Pacifier, which was not in the military rank. Half of the Yongxing Army was still under the control of the Song Dynasty. This title was much more significant than Yue Fei's questionable pacification envoy and Wang Yan's governor of the enemy-occupied area. What's more, he was also the commander-in-chief of the imperial camp's central army.
Therefore, Li Yanxian is undoubtedly the third.
But later on, the ranking of Wang Yan and Yue Fei was deliberately vague by Emperor Zhao in order to protect Yue Fei, and there was not much discussion. In other words, it feels like there must be five of the so-called Four Heavenly Kings… Therefore, in today's military parade, it is basically the first three who are being honest and pretending, and the remaining four are just being honest. Even Wang De, who was the most noisy yesterday, seems to be pretending to be dead today.
In short, at this grand military parade held north of Heyin City and south of the Yellow River, because of their different identities, although everyone had their own thoughts, their attitudes were completely different.
However, today's protagonists are destined to be more than just these people, and today's highlight is not just the grand military parade that lasts from morning to noon.
In the afternoon, the military parade ended safely. Although there was not enough wine and meat, they still tried their best to hold a comprehensive banquet... Rewards, rewards, and a delicious meal was always indispensable.
Emperor Zhao himself also held a public imperial banquet on the reviewing stand. Unlike the small banquet last night, this time all the military commanders and above, including Niu Gao, whom Emperor Zhao had previously nominated for promotion to commander, and those generals in Yue Fei's army who were relegated to the commander level, such as Li Kui, Tang Huai, Li Bao, Li Zhang and others, that is, the powerful officers who actually led the troops, were all able to feast in front of the emperor.
The officials sat in the center, with the prime minister on the left, the general and the commander-in-chief of the imperial camp Wang Yuan on the right, the chief of the eunuch department and the deputy commander of the imperial guard standing by. Then the heads of the six ministries, nine temples, five prisons and six academies, the Hanlin scholars, and important officials of the Censorate followed the prime minister. Dozens of commanders and chief officers of various ministries followed the general... In total, there were more than a hundred seats, including those with real power, civil and military officials.
If Wanyan Talan had mustered up his remaining courage, launched a surprise attack, secretly crossed the Yellow River as a Meng'an, and then passed through the military camps that stretched for dozens of miles, and finally succeeded in raiding this place, I'm afraid the Song Dynasty would have really perished in Heyin... Of course, it's a good thing he didn't come.
After three rounds of drinking, to celebrate the emperor's birthday, to congratulate the great victory, and to mourn for the prime minister, everyone was a little drunk, but seemed a little restrained.
Because everyone was a little bit at a loss as to what to do next... According to the rules of the banquet, there should be singing and dancing, acrobatics, and sumo at the imperial banquet. When there are mostly civil officials, there should naturally be poetry. When there are mostly military generals, there should naturally be noise and noise like yesterday.
Judging from the scale of today's banquet, there should be nothing missing.
But to be honest, Emperor Zhao's "Qingyu'an" surpassed all the Lantern Festival poems in the past and present. The civil officials wanted to show off their literary talent, but who wouldn't feel guilty? The seven generals were so troubled yesterday, but they have already behaved themselves today. Who dares to do anything to the group of commanders and leaders below?
As for acrobatics, singing and dancing, and sumo...who has seen them since the Jing Kang period?
Could it be that we have to wait for Wang De, the Grand Commandant, to get drunk and invite Mrs. Liang from the Grand Commandant Han's family to come over and dance? Then, regardless of success or failure, singing, dancing and sumo will always be seen?
Of course, Emperor Zhao is not such a stingy person. Since he has prepared such a grand banquet, he naturally has some programs to offer.
"The government has issued an oral order. There is a lack of dancing and music in the army. We should use sumo wrestling to entertain the troops." Seeing the right opportunity, the guard Feng Yi suddenly stepped forward and announced loudly.
There were exclamations in the reviewing stands for a while, and then almost everyone was excited.
In the Song Dynasty, sumo was a popular sport for all ages, not only among the common people, but also among scholars, nobles and the royal family. In its heyday, almost every imperial banquet or state banquet had a professional royal sumo performance. As the saying goes, what the superiors like, the subordinates will show their appreciation. Before the Jingkang period, it had developed to the point where almost every family of nobles, wealthy families, and even civil officials kept sumo wrestlers. When attending banquets, there would be a row of sumo wrestlers standing behind them, ready to fight at any time to win face for the host.
However, among them, the most outstanding are definitely the sumo wrestlers raised by the royal family.
Back to the present, today we are reviewing the three armies. Civil and military officials have gathered in the barracks. Is there any more suitable entertainment than a sumo performance by the Zhao Song royal family?
So, when this was said, almost everyone was looking forward to it, ready to see what level of sumo wrestlers the government had gathered in Tokyo during this period of time.
The reviewing stand, which was made of rammed earth, had some steps in it to facilitate the review, thus naturally forming a viewing platform that everyone could use without having to stand up. As Feng Yi spoke, hundreds of imperial guards in armor quickly rushed up to the flat ground in front of the reviewing stand and roughly surrounded an area.
Everyone became more and more excited, because this was the posture of sumo in front of the emperor. In the past, when the royal family held sumo, there would be outer soldiers with flags and drums, and then the onlookers might even be allowed to place bets on the spot, and the winner would not only get money, but might also be rewarded with an official position, and the loser would not have to worry, because the government would pay for the loser.
However, only a moment later, all the civil and military officials present changed color , because Yang Yizhong, the emperor's confidant who had disappeared at some point, suddenly appeared, and brought a group of special "sumo wrestlers" with him personally... At first, some people thought they had seen it wrong, but when General Yang, who no one dared to underestimate, came on stage to pay his respects and report, everyone had no doubts anymore, and some of the generals from the Tokyo Garrison were even a little panicked.
"Officials!"
Yang Yizhong bowed his head. "The traitor Zhang Yu and his thirty officers have been brought here."
The entire military camp was still in a state of noise all around, and the spring breeze was blowing gently along the Bian River, making a whistling sound. However, the reviewing stand where the emperor was sitting had already been completely silent. Several officials frowned slightly and looked at each other in thought, but since Emperor Zhao had not explained the whole story, they were in no hurry to advise.
But it is conceivable that if Emperor Zhao really wanted to do something bloody and humiliating on the spot without any reason, such as forcing Zhang Yu and his subordinates to fight each other for fun instead of executing them according to the law, then not only them, but all the civil and civil officials here would definitely come out to protest!
Moreover, doesn't the emperor know that Zhang Yu was from the Tokyo Garrison? Even if he died, he died. But making a fuss about it in such an occasion would only make the officials of the Tokyo Garrison suspicious?
During the reorganization, there should be no additional incentives for these military leaders who came from bandit backgrounds.
"Bring the people up." After the military parade, Emperor Zhao, who had changed into his bright red uniform, had a calm expression on his face, but responded directly.
Yang Yi Zhong turned around and waved his hand, and soldiers pulled dozens of people tied to a long rope onto the stage. The leader was none other than Zhang Yu, the former commander of the Tokyo Garrison.
When Zhang met the stage, he was filthy and in a mess, no longer as majestic as before, but he still forced himself to remain calm, looking up and saying nothing... In fact, he knew in his heart that if there was a chance to survive, he would definitely kneel down and beg for his life by relying on the favors of his many old colleagues and old friends in the Tokyo Liaison Office on the stage.
However, isn't the guilt of the battle in Nanyang obvious? Doesn't everyone, including himself, know that today is doomed to end badly?
Although he was a government soldier, he purged the anti-Jin civil and military officials in the city, opened the city and surrendered to the Jin, which directly destroyed the Wuhe defense line; after surrendering to the Jin, he coerced the soldiers and civilians in the city and drove them to besiege the secondary capital where the Song Dynasty government was located, and repeatedly engaged in head-on battles with the government troops in Nanyang; after his defeat, he fled westward in embarrassment, but encountered a mutiny and was defeated by Zhai Chong of Xiping, and all his troops were wiped out... After all these battles, he had no possibility of survival.
I just don’t know how he died!
"Are you Zhang Yu?" Zhao Jiu asked calmly. "The one who drove the people of Nanyang City to fill the ditch and then built the tunnel?"
Zhang Yu glanced at the young official in a red robe sitting in the seat and said nothing.
"You and your subordinates are guilty of crimes that cannot be forgiven, but today's military review and reward ceremony may give you a chance." Zhao Jiu ignored the other party's unreasonableness, and ignored the countless "honest ministers" on his left who raised their eyebrows and prepared to step out, but continued to talk to himself. "I heard that you forced the soldiers and civilians to serve as soldiers in your army. When the soldiers and civilians refused, you forced them to fight each other to decide life and death, and then the dead abandoned the land and the living became soldiers... Today I will give him a taste of his own medicine!"
Zhang Yu was finally moved, but he looked a little unbelievable. The thirty officers behind him also looked quite surprised.
The civil officials were naturally all surprised. It was not that they did not want to give advice, but they encountered a sudden reversal... They originally wanted to advise Emperor Zhao not to be too low-class, but now they were worried that if Zhang Yu could survive, they would end up making things worse!
Could it be that because of the Emperor Zhao's whim, such a despicable traitor was allowed to live? This was the traitor who had caused the officials of Nanyang to suffer so much!
This is too much!
However, for some reason, everyone was cautious today. No one stepped out until Emperor Zhao made the final statement like "the living will be pardoned", especially when they saw that Chief Censor Hu Yin and Imperial Academician Lin Jingmo, who came with the Emperor to Heyin, were both speechless and sat there in silence, they became even more cautious.
While the civil and military officials were thinking about their own things, Zhao Jiu had already pointed at the prisoners behind Zhang Yu and asked, "You thirty people were specially picked by General Yang. You were all selected by Zhang Yu using that method. You have all been through this once, so you should know the rules, right?"
The officers of Zhang Yu's army naturally kowtowed in response, but their expressions were completely different. Some begged for mercy, while others thanked the emperor for his grace. Zhang Yu, who was standing in front, also smiled slightly.
"Then go down!" Zhao Jiu did not delay any longer and waved his hand to dismiss them. "You have 30 people, which is considered a swarm of people. Zhang Yu is a swarm of bees. Only one of these swarms of bees and a swarm of people can survive today... The one who survives will be pardoned!"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone on the reviewing stand changed color.
The civil officials and most of the military officers were whispering to each other, as if to say "as expected", and some even laughed out loud. The thirty people were overjoyed, but some military officers, especially those from the Tokyo Garrison, looked stern and became cautious.
Of course, Zhang Yu's face turned pale instantly. He knew that this was the end of the day, and he wanted to take the opportunity to yell and curse on the stage to build up some courage. But just as he was about to open his mouth, the thirty subordinates who were tied with him rushed down impatiently, pulled him down, and dragged him off the reviewing platform.
After they got off the stage and joined the array of armored soldiers, some guards threw down some short knives, daggers and sticks. The thirty men either used the weapons to cut the ropes, or had no time to grab the weapons and directly held Zhang Yu down by the ropes.
Then everyone rushed forward like a pack of wolves devouring flesh, and in a moment, they turned the whole swarm of bees into a hive!
From beginning to end today, Zhang Yu didn't even have the time to say a word or shout a word before he was reduced to a piece of rotten meat.
Thirty people were pardoned and became soldiers. They left with great gratitude, but the piece of rotten meat on the ground inevitably affected everyone's appetite.
After the reviewing stand fell into a strange silence for a moment, just as Ma Gao, the commander of the Tokyo Garrison, could no longer hold back after exchanging glances with several of his colleagues and was about to step forward, suddenly, someone next to him gritted his teeth and stepped forward before him.
When everyone looked , it was none other than Wang Shan, the commander of the Tokyo Garrison... and they were all moved.
"Wang Qing, do you have anything to say?" Zhao Jiu smiled.
"Your Majesty!" The wind gradually picked up in the spring afternoon. Wang Shan's forehead was slightly sweaty, but he tried his best to face the emperor. "Your Majesty, Zhang Yu committed a great crime and deserved this fate! But he was also a brother to us in the past. Now that he is dead, I want to collect his body!"
"You are quite loyal." Zhao Jiu sighed softly, but then looked at Wanqi Xie who had stood up at some point. "Wanqi Qing actually has something to say?"
"Officials!"
Wanqi Xie quickly stepped out of the line and came to Wang Shan's side. After bowing, he looked at him proudly, looking righteous and awe-inspiring. "I think what Commander Wang said is absurd. Zhang Yu is a thief whose crime is unforgivable. He forced the good people to fight to death and drove the people to fill the ditch to become a stick man. This is against humanity and can be called cruel and inhumane... Therefore, in my opinion, the government is using the same method to punish him today. Although it is wonderful, it is still not enough! His body should be hung up and sent to the troops as a warning!"
Wang Shan opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out.
After Wanqi Xie finished speaking, he continued to criticize him, with a dignified manner: "Not only that, people like Wang Shan, who were bandits in the past, also had many bad deeds of not governing the military discipline. Although Zong Liushou later offered words of appeasement, they should not be pursued further. But today, he protected such a vicious bandit, which clearly shows that his bandit nature has not changed. I think he should be dismissed from his military post, his subordinates should be taken away, and he should be demoted to a commoner to serve as a warning to others!"
Wang Shan quickly knelt down and bowed his head to apologize.
The people around them listened, and the four prime ministers took the lead, sitting in their seats like wooden sculptures, which made all the civil officials stand in awe. On the other side, several generals looked at each other, and wanted to speak, but after stealing a glance at Emperor Zhao, they all remained quiet as usual. Seeing that their own commander was speechless, Han, Zhang, Li, Yue, the two kings and other officials also kept silent.
Only a group of officials from the Tokyo Garrison who were at a loss, after exchanging many glances, became more and more terrified. Then Ma Gao took the lead, and except for Li Qiong, more than a dozen commanders came out to kowtow, pleading for Wang Shan together, claiming that they would use their military merits to exchange for the government's forgiveness of Wang Shan... Quan Bangyan and Guo Zhongxun, several civil servants from the Tokyo Garrison who were opposite them, were so embarrassed and panicked.
Zhao Jiu smiled slightly and was about to speak.
Unexpectedly, Wanqi Xie was not afraid of such a scene. Instead, he stood there and continued to face him sternly: "Your Majesty! You must not be deceived by these military ruffians. As far as I know, Ma Gao and other ten commanders did not think of sending troops to rescue General Han during the national crisis. Instead, they contacted each other privately, retreated their troops and joined forces in Fugou, and then imitated the behavior of Taizu, forming brothers of the opposite sex, agreeing to share life and death, wealth and honor together... Your Majesty, these people are not only thieves, but they all have evil intentions!"
The wind was blowing and the flags were flying. The stage became increasingly quiet. Among the kneeling commanders, one actually touched his waist instinctively. Then he suddenly realized that he was feasting in front of the emperor and had taken off his weapons. At the same time, on and off the stage, the imperial guards were all wearing armor and holding sharp weapons. Together with the civil and military officials on their left and right, they looked coldly at this group of people... and from time to time glanced at the pile of rotten meat below the stage.
