Volume 3 Chapter 15 If a Minister Suddenly Sees Truth
By the way, Han Shu led his family back from Yangzhou this time , thinking that he could show the attitude of their Meihua Han family that they share the happiness and misfortune of the country, and thus get a good start with Emperor Zhao, who was not prominent in the past but now has an extremely stable throne... After all, Emperor Zhao himself is the source of political power, and the two emperors went north for hunting. Except for a great aunt in her seventies or eighties, Emperor Zhao has no other close relatives with the same surname south of the Yellow River. So in terms of external kinship, it seems that only these cousins can be regarded as close relatives.
As for these cousins from other families, there is no doubt that the Meihua Han family has the most upright and respectable origin.
However, such a sincere heart was ruined because of an inexplicable thing. It can only be said that the emperor was really cold. Fortunately, this official used to speak fierce words, but he raised it high and put it down gently. After the other party knelt down, he scolded him and drove him out... From his appearance, it was better to say that he was using the other person as a raft to show his favor and win over the general rather than really being jealous.
People around him are no longer surprised by such behavior.
But no matter what, Han Shu was hurriedly summoned, scolded and then hurriedly driven out, but Emperor Zhao continued to hold the banquet as if nothing had happened... Everyone sat down again, and besides Emperor Zhao the host, there were only Yue Fei and Wanqi Xie who were guests, and Lin Jingmo, Yang Yi Zhong, Liu Yan and Lan Gui who were companions. There were only seven or eight people sitting casually in the pavilion, and there were only seven or eight meat and vegetable dishes on the table, among which three of the meat dishes were all rabbit meat. It can be seen that what the emperor said in the palace today might not be false.
Such an attitude was actually far from being in accordance with etiquette, but the court had experienced the Jingkang Change, had fled from Nanjing to Huaishang, from Huaishang to Nanyang, and then returned to the overgrown Tokyo City, so it didn't matter what the rules were.
I've gotten used to it a long time ago.
After everyone sat down, Yue Fei was a little embarrassed at first... Although this man was a person who did things more maturely than anyone else, he was still a living person after all, and his sensitive habits had not changed... Then, the four guests came. Scholar Kobayashi and Liu Yan were always taciturn. Lan Gui was not sure whether he was pretending or really, but he had a trembling posture and did not look like a guest at all. Yang Yi Zhong, who was always good at flattery, was a little sensitive to these generals after he took control of the Imperial City Bureau and enjoyed the power to pass secret letters with the commanders. So the atmosphere was unexpectedly difficult to be lively for a while.
Fortunately, there was Wanqi Xie, who entered the officialdom in middle age and had been in both the court and the underworld. To borrow a phrase from the great scholar Su, he could accompany the Jade Emperor or the beggars of Suzhou. He started by talking about his experiences on the journey to the West, which gradually livened up the mood at the table.
"Qu Duan has a BMW?"
Zhao Jiu was slightly startled. "Four hundred miles a day?!"
"Yes," Wanqi Xie smiled calmly. "Good instructor, you know that this horse is famous in Guanxi. I have also seen it with my own eyes. It is indeed a divine horse. Its head is twice as big as an ordinary horse. When it is fully armored, it looks like a monster. No wonder it is called Iron Elephant. Moreover, it has extraordinary endurance and is also very fast when sprinting. I heard that such a divine horse is one in a million and it depends entirely on luck to get it... When Qu Da was held down by the Wu brothers in prison and thought he was going to die, he still remembered to entrust this horse to Wu Lin. Fortunately, the emperor was kind and allowed him to live because of his contribution to the maintenance of the horse. He was allowed to ride to Tokyo City in the end."
Zhao Jiu seemed to be thinking about something, and Wanqi Xie just smiled without saying anything. There was silence at the table for a while.
"Does Pengju have a good horse?" After a pause, Zhao Jiu suddenly spoke and went straight to Yue Fei.
Yue Pengju was overwhelmed, and quickly stood up and bowed: "Your Majesty, I have two good horses. Although they are not as magical as the Iron Elephant, they are good horses and are sufficient for use."
"Two?" Zhao Jiu raised his eyebrows. "Is there anything unusual?"
"Reporting to the emperor." Yue Fei hesitated for a moment, and then answered in a serious tone after a brief thought. "One of these two horses was obtained by me in Hebei that day, and the other was found based on the temperament of the former during the rebellion in Jiangning this time... They have similar temperaments, both look ordinary, but their appetites are amazing, and they need several buckets of beans and a hu of spring water a day... However, if the beans are not washed and the spring water is not clean and running water, they would rather die than eat it."
Everyone present was not stupid, and many of them laughed when they heard this. Even Emperor Zhao laughed, "So, an honest person won't accept food given out of pity, a man of integrity won't drink water from a stolen spring, and a good horse won't eat dirty things?"
"I am not exaggerating or lying, it is just that my two horses are indeed like that." Yue Fei said again immediately.
"I do believe it. Pengju, please continue." Zhao Jiu nodded slowly, and motioned Yue Fei to sit down and talk. It was obvious that he did not care. The others also nodded.
After all, good horses are picky about food, of course, but Yue Fei specifically picked this one to describe his two good horses, no doubt because of what had just happened in the palace, he used the horses to compare himself to each other and then to prove his innocence.
"Yes... Actually, that's fine." Yue Fei continued. "The key is that the ability of these two horses can't be revealed all at once. When I was loyal and brave, I led 500 Tabai soldiers to Sishui Pass for help with one of the horses. I was deeply moved... At the beginning of the march, I wore armor and held a sharp weapon, driving this horse for 30 to 40 miles, and it was no faster than the horses of the other Tabai knights on the left and right. It was just like an ordinary war horse;
"But by noon, after a rapid march of nearly a hundred miles, the rest of the horses in the army were panting and had to stop to rest. The horse under me, on the contrary, became more energetic, even neighing and whinnying, and running faster and faster.
"In the afternoon, we marched again, covering another hundred miles, and finally reached Sishui Pass at night. All the horses in the army were already exhausted, but the horse under my crotch did not sweat or breathe heavily... I think this is a first-class horse, because it can bear great things without taking advantage of them, and it has enough strength but does not seek to show off. It is a talent that can go far!"
"It is indeed a good horse!" Zhao Jiu listened quietly, then clapped his hands and smiled, but then looked at several close ministers. "In fact, I also have a horse... It is the Liaodong horse that Pingfu gave me. It is still kept in this palace. You should all remember it, right?"
Liu Yan, Yang Yizhong, Lan Gui, and even Mr. Xiaolin all nodded.
Among them, Liu Yan was even more embarrassed: "The horse I gave to the emperor is not as good as the two horses of Yue Taiwei, and even worse than the Iron Elephant."
Zhao Jiu did not comment, but smiled and said: "This horse of mine is big, but it does not eat as much as Pengju's two horses every day. It is not too picky about food, and it can eat wild grass in the palace. It accelerates very quickly when it is driven. It can travel thirty or forty miles, much faster than other horses. But after more than a hundred miles, it is no different from an ordinary war horse. It also sweats profusely and has a hard breath... Does Pengju think this is a good horse or a bad horse?"
Yue Fei was slightly startled, and then actually a little panicked... This was different from what he thought, right?
However, the other people at the table seemed to have already been familiar with the official's habits, and no one found it strange.
However, no matter what, Yue Fei was not a man who was used to lying, so he answered with gritted teeth: "I don't think he is a good horse."
"In theory, it is not a good horse." Zhao Jiu answered frankly. "Compared to Pengju's two horses that can reach far, it is even worse, but I personally think it is still a good horse... Because there are more rare horses in the world than just the iron elephant. Are horses that can reach far common? This Liaodong horse that runs faster than ordinary horses at the beginning is already a good horse!"
Everyone was moved, and Emperor Zhao continued to talk:
"Besides, the Central Plains is short of horses. From Nanjing to Huaishang and then to Nanyang, I don't have many horses around me. At that time, it was the best horse that Pingfu and his men could find for me. I rode this horse to deal with Fan Qiong and escaped to Nanyang at night. Until that day, I rode it across the river under Changsha City and headed straight for Pengju's camp...Pengju!"
"I am here."
"These days, as Dongjing City becomes more and more lively, many people have talked about me . Some say that I am too frugal and make it difficult for my subordinates to do their work, some say that I handle things in a disorganized manner, and some say that I am unfair in rewards and punishments... But in fact, several prime ministers and close ministers have long understood my intentions. They know that everything I do, say, and say is based on resisting the Jin people, and in fact, it is true." Emperor Zhao sat in the pavilion and spoke slowly. "Because I think the world is in turmoil, the people are living in misery, and the internal and external disputes are still the most serious, and the millions of people in the two rivers are being ravaged by the Jin people. So in the final analysis, the priority now is to fight the Song army."
"The emperor is in a difficult situation." Before Yue Fei could speak, Wanqi Xie couldn't help but interrupt.
Zhao Jiu laughed at each other and continued to speak slowly: "Therefore, when I deal with government affairs and personnel, I still have to consider whether it is beneficial to fight against Jin and whether it is meritorious. And considering the overall situation at the moment, Jin is still strong and Song is weak, and Jin attacks and Song defends. Therefore, whether it is the Iron Elephant, the Zhiyuan Good Material, my inferior horse, or even the market mule or donkey, as long as it can be used to fight against Jin, it is a good horse for my selfish reasons! Otherwise, even if it is a Gold Elephant or a Silver Elephant, it deserves to be stewed and eaten!"
Upon hearing this, Yue Fei finally stood up solemnly and bowed again: "Your Majesty's mind is far greater than what I have thought!"
Lin Jingmo and others did not dare to be negligent. They stood up solemnly and saluted one after another.
"Everyone sit down. It's boring at the table. We are just chatting nonsense to express our feelings." Emperor Zhao was pleased with Yue Pengju's performance, but he waved his hands and smiled. "But if Mr. Lin has time, you can polish the conversation between me and Pengju after dinner and write a short essay. Post it in front of Xuande Building and on the gate of the capital province... so that some people will not be worried after what happened in the palace today and make a big news."
"Yes, sir!" Scholar Kobayashi responded immediately.
Everyone sat down again. The sun was already moving further and further west, gradually approaching sunset. No one said anything about the Iron Elephant anymore, and the atmosphere became much better.
However, just as they were talking properly and drinking a little more wine, and were gradually entering the alley, Feng Yi, the guard who had escorted Han Shu out before and was now in charge of Yeonbok Palace, suddenly arrived and solemnly reported an unexpected incident in front of the pavilion.
"The Korean envoy?"
Zhao Jiu, who was holding a piece of rabbit leg, looked back in astonishment. "This is interesting... How did you get here? Is it fake?"
"It is indeed suspicious that the envoy came in casual clothes and went straight to the capital, but an elderly official in the capital actually recognized the envoy as the Goryeo envoy who had been to Tokyo in the past, so it must be true." Feng Yi answered in an orderly and serious manner. "It is already evening, and all the ministers and chancellors are not here. Only the Privy Councilor Liu stayed behind. He was notifying several ministers while sending a message to the palace. I happened to be coming back from Xuande Tower and ran into him... Liu, please give me some advice, how should I deal with it?"
"What can we do about this?" Zhao Jiu continued to clamp the rabbit leg in front of him, and then calmly ordered. "Just tell Liu Ziyu to test the Goryeo envoy and ask if he can help us fight the Jin people. If he can help, it's just one soldier, and I can also make another sea alliance! If not, just send him away, and I will disappear!"
The sun had set and the table was silent. Feng Yi was stunned for a moment, but could only nod and leave.
