Volume 3 Chapter 56: Entrustment
In late March, the weather was getting hotter. On this afternoon, Emperor Zhao was reading Ouyang Xiu's New History of the Five Dynasties in the pavilion overlooking the lake in the harem. Besides Scholar Kobayashi who was available for consultation, Prime Minister Lu Haowen was also sitting with him.
During the Jingkang Incident, the Jin people focused all their attention on looting gold and silver, not even taking copper coins. But this does not mean that the royal books were not looted. After all, there was Wanyan Xiyin... While others were robbing gold and women, he was robbing books and regulations, and he was determined to be like Xiao He.
Of course, Xi Yin's destructive power was limited after all, and he could not force his subordinates to give up all their gold and silver to buy books for him, so more of the loss of books and regulations came from the subsequent wars, which was not a systematic loss. In addition, the literary style of the Song Dynasty was prosperous, and many books were printed and circulated in many places, so it was not difficult to find them.
This is a blessing in disguise .
In fact, some people in the court have already suggested collecting and compiling the classics, checking for errors and omissions, and re-establishing official editions ... The reason is that there are books left outside, and many people are using classics with poor printing quality and numerous errors and omissions to mislead the students.
However, this kind of thing has nothing to do with Zhao Guanjia's reading experience, because "New History of the Five Dynasties" is a private history book, and Ouyang Xiu said at the beginning that he was disgusted by the loss of social ethics and moral collapse during the Five Dynasties, so he wanted to write a history book in the style of the Spring and Autumn Annals to criticize those "shameless" people... In other words, "New History of the Five Dynasties" is more about literary and artistic value, and also about social ethics, but it has little to do with textual research and historical value.
Even people in the Song Dynasty said that Ouyang Xiu would "alas" and write "second-rate articles". This probably means that no matter how well an online article is written, it is just an online article and cannot be considered literature.
Therefore, Zhao Jiu only used it as a novel to pass the time... He and Lu Haowen were waiting here for Han Xiaozhou who should be returning to Tokyo today.
However, from noon to afternoon, Zhao had read several generations without a trace, but Han Xiaozhou was nowhere to be seen. Finally, as the sun was setting, Zhao was so bored that he went straight to find Feng Dao's biography, and only then did he see Yang Yizhong leading a middle-aged purple-robed official hurriedly, and Zhao Jiu put down the history book and calmed down a little.
He knew that the person coming must be Han Xiaozhou, because someone had told him before that Han Xiaozhou had just entered the officialdom with the help of imperial favor and became a mere recorder of Kaifeng Prefecture when he was bumped into by the extremely frivolous Emperor Taishang Daojun. After asking about his name and family background, he directly awarded him the position of Junior Secretary of the Imperial Guards and specially bestowed him with a third-rank purple robe... and this person also became a rare purple-robed prefect.
And sure enough, when this person came up and greeted him, he turned out to be the eldest son of the Han family, who was twice as old as Emperor Zhao but one generation younger than him.
After the two sides exchanged greetings, Zhao Jiu, who had been waiting impatiently, frowned and said, "Mr. Han, you must have come all the way here, but you took so long to get to Tokyo. It took you nearly half a day to get into the city?"
Han Xiaozhou was a little dazed when he was scolded, but he still explained reluctantly: "Good instructor, your Majesty knows that I arrived at Qingcheng, south of Tokyo last night, and my cousin went to Qingcheng to inform the Majesty's will. Therefore, when I set out to see the Majesty this morning, I had to abandon the horse and take a mule cart instead, which is why I am a little late..."
After these words were spoken, the pavilion fell silent for a moment. Zhao Jiu was also obviously stunned. After a while, he asked, "When did I issue an order to your uncles, and when did I ask you to ride a mule cart into the city?"
I don’t know if it’s because of the hot weather, but Han Xiaozhou was sweating all over and didn’t know how to deal with it.
"The emperor did issue such an order, but it was not a special order." Seeing Han Xiaozhou at a loss, Prime Minister Lu Haowen, who was sitting next to him, spoke up at the right time. "Before, when the emperor was in Huaishang, he issued an order that officials were not allowed to ride in sedan chairs because the state was in danger. Later, when he arrived in Nanyang, he issued another order that officials were not allowed to ride healthy horses without permission, and women were not allowed to travel in ox carts without permission..."
"That's right." Han Xiaozhou hurriedly followed. "My cousins told me that all the civil officials in the capital ride donkeys or mules. I was delayed a little while looking for a mule cart. I hope the emperor will forgive me."
Zhao Jiu looked at the other party's fearful attitude and felt guilty for a moment. After a long silence, he gritted his teeth and skipped the topic: "Let's not talk about this matter. After crossing the river, does Han Qing know what to do?"
"I will definitely fulfill my mission!"
Upon hearing this, Han Xiaozhou, who was dressed in a purple robe, fell to the ground without regard for etiquette and bowed to him. Xiaolin Xueshi, Yang Yizhong and Lan Gui beside him retreated several steps in shock. Lu Haowen even stood up and dodged. When the purple-robed prefect raised his head, his eyes were red. "Before I left Jiangzhou, my mother told me that I had received the grace of the country and should act immediately upon orders. I must not be disrespectful or lose my integrity. Even if I die, I must bring the empress dowager back to the capital... My mother said, my mother said, don't worry about her old age!"
At the end of his speech, this person actually burst into tears.
Zhao Jiu was also obviously startled, but he swallowed all the dissatisfaction and words that he had accumulated before, and just said carefully: "Han Qing, please stand up... Since the old lady has already given instructions, I will not give any more instructions... I remember that your father died when he became the governor of Xiangzhou?"
"yes."
"Fortunately, you have a virtuous mother," Zhao Jiu looked directly at Lu Hao and asked, "What is the highest level of gift you can give to such a virtuous mother?"
Lu Haowen seemed a little frightened, but he answered succinctly: "Madam Guo, this is the Lady Ningguo that the emperor awarded to General Yue's mother last year."
Zhao Jiu immediately turned to Han Xiaozhou and said, "Your mother should be given the title of Lady Rongguo! Get up quickly!"
Han Xiaozhou became more grateful and stood up. Zhao Jiu gave him some kind instructions and asked him to go back to his residence in Tokyo to rest first. He would go north with the Jin envoys as soon as he received the order to welcome the envoy tomorrow.
Just like that, watching Han Xiaozhou come and go, Emperor Zhao sat there for a full quarter of an hour before he looked at Lu Hao who was still standing beside him and asked, "Prince Lu, I heard that you two are relatives?"
"Yes." Lu Haowen came back to his senses and looked at him carefully. "Han Dayin's grandmother is my aunt..."
"So, there is no difference in generation between us, the emperor and his subjects..."
Zhao Jiu muttered something, but the people around him pretended not to hear.
After a short pause, Emperor Zhao looked around and saw that besides a few guards, there were only Scholar Xiaolin and Lan Gui around. He then asked Lu Hao directly, "Mr. Lu, do you think your relative is pretending to be stupid?"
Lu Haowen was slightly stunned, then slowly shook his head, but it was unclear whether he agreed or disagreed, or maybe he just couldn't tell.
Zhao Jiu sighed, but spoke his true feelings: "I will not hide it from you, Prime Minister Lu. Ever since Wanyan Wushu sent me the letter, I felt that something was not right. Han Xiaozhou asked to go north and it arrived at the same time as Wushu's letter. It was too coincidental..."
Lü Haowen had no choice but to bite the bullet and speak earnestly: "Your Majesty, Han Xiao has been favored by the country for generations, and it is impossible for him to collude with foreign countries."
Zhao Jiu frowned for a moment.
"Your Majesty..." Scholar Xiao Lin on the other side also came to his senses, but he lowered his head and spoke carefully. "Han Dayin's father passed away early, so it's hard to say, but when his grandfather, Duke Yiguo (Han Zhongyan), was the prime minister, he was known as a sincere gentleman... I think Han Xiaozhou is very similar to his grandfather."
"Zhunzhunjunzi" means a useless and incompetent person, which is consistent with Han Xiaozhou's performance today.
However, Zhao Jiu glanced at the somewhat embarrassed Lu Haowen, and then slowly shook his head: "In fact, I didn't doubt him, because if you think about it carefully, Han Xiaozhou is in Jiangzhou, how can he communicate with the north across thousands of miles and the Yellow River? So I thought from the beginning that Han Xiaozhou's request to go north must be because people from top to bottom think that the north and the south are stable and can resume exchanges. But Wanyan Wushu's move at this time seems to be too much to cater to our people's hearts."
Lin Jingmo seemed to be thinking about something, and then fell silent again.
Lu Haowen was helpless and could only face the emperor with a serious expression: "What do you think is going on?"
"I naturally thought that Wanyan Wushu had other intentions..." Zhao Jiu said calmly. "To be honest with you, Mr. Lu, I called you here today not only to accompany me to meet Han Xiaozhou, but I actually wanted to tell you that I have always suspected that the Jin Kingdom's behavior this time was to use the Queen Mother Xuanhe to confuse me and cater to the hearts of the people in the Song Dynasty to cover up something! Han Xiaozhou will leave tomorrow, so I am telling you this."
Lu Haowen sighed slightly, but then asked in return: "May I ask the sir, what about that?"
Zhao Jiu also sighed... As Lu Haowen said, so what?
In fact, Zhao Jiu had already relaxed, but Wanyan Wushu's deliberate paralysis allowed him to glimpse something. However, even though he glimpsed it, he didn't know how to respond.
This is the danger of not having the military initiative. Although there is already suspicion, there is no way to prove anything. You can only passively wait for the situation to unfold. These days, he thought about it for a long time, but found that he couldn't even dispatch troops in advance to support, because all the troops were doing their own jobs. Once they moved away, they would reveal a big gap. Han Shizhong was in Caizhou, which was already the best support position.
Moreover, reason told him that guessing was just guessing, and forcing the soldiers and civilians to be vigilant would only lead to exhaustion, which would make the situation even worse when the Jin army really came. The Jin army might even not come, which would make him lose his prestige in vain. Therefore, he could not even speak openly to the officers in the letter... He just asked them to defend carefully and not to relax their vigilance just because summer was coming.
"Well." After thinking for a while, seeing Feng Yi and Feng Erguan peeking from a distance, Zhao Jiu stood up and said goodbye to Lu Haowen. "If the enemy comes, we will stop him. If the water comes, we will block it. Please leave, Mr. Lu. I have something else to do..."
Lu Haowen said goodbye immediately.
However, just after Lu Haowen turned around and walked four or five steps, Zhao Jiu looked at something on the table in the pavilion, and his heart moved slightly, but he stood up and called to the other party: "Sir, please stay."
Lu Haowen looked back in surprise.
"This is a gift for Prime Minister Lu." Under the silent gaze of Scholar Kobayashi, Zhao Jiu folded a page of the "New History of the Five Dynasties" that he had been reading for half a day. Then he walked out of the pavilion with the book in his hands and handed it to Lu Haowen.
Lu Haowen didn't understand what was going on, but he still bowed to thank him. Then, holding the book in both hands, he left the harem accompanied by Lan Gui.
When the prime minister and the chief escort of the Ministry of Internal Affairs turned a corner, they saw Feng Yiyin standing by the road and hurriedly bowing and greeting them... Lu Haowen felt that the latter looked familiar, so he nodded slightly and walked over. When he turned another corner, he remembered that it was Pan Yongshou, the imperial physician and the father of Concubine Pan.
This incident caused some ripples in Lu Xianggong's heart.
Let’s not talk about how Lu Haowen went back to study. It was a hot day in the palace, and Zhao Jiu went to Concubine Pan’s place to rest that night as usual... Since he came back, he has stayed here most of the time, and today is no exception.
But on this day, when I was sleeping at three o'clock in the morning, I suddenly heard Lan Gui and Yang Yizhong calling me through the door.
Zhao Jiu suddenly woke up and came out directly with his clothes on, but he didn't show any panic at all: "But the Jin people finally moved?"
"No." It was Lan Gui, not Yang Yizhong, who leaned over and handed over the note. "Everyone, the Privy Council urgently forwarded the urgent letter signed by Liu Ji, the governor of Xiangyang, Ma Shen, the governor of Jinghu North Road, and Liu Hongdao, the governor of Jiangnan West Road. The clock of Dongting Lake is reversed!"
Zhao Jiu was stunned for a moment and didn't even try to take the note.
After a few breaths, the Zhao Song official finally frowned and said, "You didn't rebel the year before last, you didn't rebel last year, why are you rebelling this year?"
Yang Yizhong and Lan Gui looked at each other, of course without saying a word, as it was not their turn to speak on this matter.
"The year before last, the emperor was in Nanyang, only a few hundred miles away, and Prime Minister Zhong did not dare to rebel. Last year, the emperor won a great victory and conferred him many honorary official titles to appease him. He was happy and comfortable, but no longer wanted to rebel. And according to what was said in the letters, Hubei has suffered serious spring floods this year. The floods have just occurred, and the autumn harvest is expected to fail. Last year, the land tax was increased, and the people were in an uproar. The people around him thought that this was the last chance, and if Prime Minister Zhong still wanted to be his great grandfather, he could only rebel, and the emperor had no need to worry..." In the Chongwen Courtyard, under the hastily lit lights, the Prime Minister Wang Boyan, who had just entered the palace, spoke first, but did not seem to care.
"That's right." Another minister, Xu Jingheng, was also quite calm. "From my perspective, the people of Dongting Lake have formed a society to protect themselves since the Jingkang period, and they don't listen to the government's orders. They will rebel sooner or later. Last year, taxes were increased, and this year, they suffered a disaster. They are bound to rebel. It's not a matter of whether Prime Minister Zhong is willing or not, or whether he dares to do it... If Prime Minister Zhong doesn't rebel, others will, and they will definitely rise up in Dongting Lake and rely on that society to rebel!"
Under the light, Zhao Jiu looked at Xu Jingheng who was talking, then turned his gaze to Lu Haowen who looked a little tired and worried, and he finally came to his senses.
"Your Majesty, I have to say that it is a good opportunity for him to rebel now. We should take this opportunity to send troops to eradicate this problem!" Chen Gui, who was born in Hubei, was also very confident and passionate. "Han Shizhong is in Huaixi. We can directly send him south to quell the rebellion and call in a few suitable water generals from Liangshan Lake. This will be enough to wipe out this matter."
"Yes, if Prime Minister Zhong raised an army when the Jin people attacked, it could still be taken seriously, but the situation today is just a minor issue!" Xu Jingheng was obviously in a good mood today.
Zhao Jiu nodded slowly, almost emphasizing each word: "What you said today is truly insightful. It makes me feel like I was hit by a stick. You are really a famous minister... Yes, when things in the world reach a certain point, it is not a matter of who is willing to do it or not. Some things are inevitable and should be faced head-on!"
Seeing the emperor's cooperation, Xu Jingheng twirled his beard with satisfaction and said, "In this case, why not send Han Shizhong south to quell the rebellion."
"Yes!" Zhao Jiu stood up proudly. "But since this is a military matter and the situation is urgent, we don't have to be bound by the situation... We will split our forces into two groups. On the one hand, we will issue an order from the capital and the Privy Council to Liu Ji, Ma Shen, and Liu Hongdao to organize an army to defend the prefecture and try to besiege Prime Minister Zhong. On the other hand, I will directly issue an order to the imperial guards to take the fast horses to Han Shizhong and have him leave immediately. We must make it as unpredictable as the shadow and as powerful as thunder!"
Xu Jingheng hesitated for a moment, but Lu Haowen, who looked exhausted, simply nodded and said, "I think it's okay."
Without waiting for the other gentlemen to respond, Zhao Jiu nodded and simply turned and left.
Just like that, that night, countless imperial edicts and golden medals were galloping around on countless horses, and the city gates were not closed all night, which shocked the entire city.
The next day, they learned that the rebellion was caused by Dongting Lake in the south, and the situation was slightly relieved.
On this day, the welcoming envoy Han Xiaozhou also returned north with the Jin envoy Gao Jingshan.
Two days later, Han Shizhong's army turned to Nanyang as expected upon receiving the imperial edict. Interestingly, there were also movements from other imperial camps. But at this moment, the troops from Taihang Mountain suddenly tried their best to send intelligence, and the Meng'an and Mouke troops from all over Hebei began to mobilize and assemble on a large scale!
When the news came, high-ranking officials in Beijing were panicked and some even leaked the news, causing unrest in Tokyo for several days. Only Zhao Jiu remained motionless, as if everything was normal.
Five or six days later, just when Tokyo had just breathed a sigh of relief after the restoration of martial law, three pieces of news came almost simultaneously from different directions:
First, just as Meng'an and Mouke in Hebei region began to mobilize, Wanyan Loushi sent out troops again after a lapse of two months. Before the end of March, he raised a Western Route Army of no less than 60,000 soldiers, crossed the river and left Yan'an Prefecture, and sent out emergency orders for Fuzhou and Danzhou...and considering the delay in information, one of the two states might have been lost by then, or even both of them.
Secondly, the Meng'an Moukes in Hebei Province, who were the core troops of the Jin Dynasty's Eastern Route Army, were mobilized and assembled in two directions, half to Damingfu and half to Taiyuan. At the same time, the remaining troops of the Western Route Army were also mobilized on all fronts, but they were obviously gathering towards Yan'an in northern Shaanxi.
Thirdly, Han Shizhong, who was supposed to turn south from Nanyang to Dongting Lake, suddenly showed his subordinates a new imperial edict when he reached Nanyang. Then he abandoned Hubei and turned westward to Wugu Pass, and asked Nanyang Prefecture to deliver its stockpiled grain and grass to Guanxi through Wugu Pass. Yan Xiaozhong of Nanyang Prefecture was stunned and could only watch Han Shizhong leave while sending a fast horse to Tokyo to inquire... Why were the edicts of the capital province and the Privy Council inconsistent with the imperial edict?
Of course, at this time in Dongjing City, no one cared about Yan Xiaozhong's suspicion, because among the two groups of people that Yan Xiaozhong wanted to question, the emperor himself had already been fully armed and was ready to lead the army to Luoyang in person; and at the same time, because of the report from the attendant Yu Yunwen, the officials of Chongwenyuan Dutang who had temporarily received the news gathered hastily, and then, under the leadership of four ministers, stopped Emperor Zhao in front of Yiyou Gate between the harem and the front palace, and tried to stop Emperor Zhao's willful behavior... There was no one in charge of Chongwenyuan Dutang.
After all, the situation is very clear at this point. The Jin people had previously paralyzed Emperor Zhao by sending back the Queen Mother, and paralyzed the world by the attack during the New Year. This time, they were deliberately planning to mobilize the entire country's army to go west... Of the 200,000 troops, I'm afraid only 50,000 to 60,000 will be used to contain the eastern front, and the remaining 150,000 to 150,000 will all gather in the Guanzhong area. It is obvious that they want to annex the entire Guanzhong, and even Bashu.
How dangerous is it with such a large force? If the government leaves lightly, what if something unexpected happens?
"I'm just going to Luoyang to take charge." In front of Yiyou Gate, Zhao Jiu was wearing armor and carrying a bow, looking at the dozens of important officials led by the four ministers in front of him. He laughed for a moment. At the same time, Yang Yizhong, Liu Yan, Lin Jingmo and other close officials were standing inside the gate. It seemed that someone was waiting here specifically. "Why are you here, gentlemen?"
"Does your Majesty think that we will believe it?" Xu Jingheng was the first to be furious. "Since the Jin people want to annex Guanzhong, what is the point of your going to Luoyang? Moreover, your Majesty has always regarded us as enemies and has made secret preparations. I'm afraid Han Shizhong has already reached Wuguan by now, right?"
"How could I consider you as my enemies? I consider you who are here today as my confidants!" Zhao Jiu stood on the steps in front of Yiyou's gate, looking at the people who came here in a hurry, and couldn't help shaking his head. "Those who came here today are either my close ministers or important ministers whom I promoted since I was in Nanyang... If I can't trust you in this city, then I really have no one to trust!"
Xu Jingheng was also stunned.
Wang Boyan took advantage of the situation and stepped forward, saying earnestly, "Your Majesty, since you know that I am loyal, you should also consider it a little... It is really dangerous to go to the front line!"
"Isn't there no other way?" Zhao Jiu remained calm. "After abandoning the two rivers, do we have to abandon Guanxi? If Guanxi is gone, can the Central Plains be saved?"
Wang Boyan and Xu Jingheng were speechless for a moment, and many of them burst into tears. But soon, everyone turned their eyes past the inexperienced Chen Gui and focused on another prime minister, who was none other than Prime Minister Lu Haowen, who had already established considerable prestige.
Lu Haowen's eyes were red, and he walked forward slowly. On the steps in front of Yiyou's gate, he bowed to Zhao Jiu and said, "Your Majesty! The war must be fought, but you alone are responsible for the safety of the world. Now we are not as destitute as we were in Mingdao Palace back then. We already have some troops and foundations. Why not leave the battle in Guanxi to Yuwen Xianggong and Han Shizhong? In any case, Your Majesty should not take risks again..."
"When Emperor Taizong of Tang conquered the world, he personally went to the front lines." Zhao Jiu shook his head. "How can we win if I don't go to the front lines?"
This turn of events was a little abrupt. Lu Haowen thought that the other party would cite the reason Qu Duan had given last time, but he still instinctively refuted: "You can't compare with Emperor Taizong of Tang, right? Throughout history, there has only been one Emperor Taizong of Tang."
As soon as these words were spoken, Lu Hao asked himself that something seemed to be wrong.
"This time it's not that dangerous. Although the Jin army caught us by surprise, they were after all acting against the will of heaven. If we can try our best to rely on the terrain of northern Shaanxi to delay them for a while, and wait until the summer comes and our army has recuperated enough, then we can attack again, and it will be like a mountain crushing an egg." Zhao Jiu continued to argue, but it sounded a little shameless.
"The emperor is not Tai..." Lu Haowen almost blurted out.
But before he could finish his words, the prime minister finally realized that something was wrong in the conversation between him and the emperor... The emperor was deliberately using a dialogue from "The Biography of Feng Dao" to mislead him.
The Biography of Feng Dao is exactly the page with folded corner in the New History of the Five Dynasties given to him by Emperor Zhao.
After figuring out what was going on, Lu Haowen smiled bitterly, "Is your Majesty comparing himself to Emperor Shizong of Zhou? Or do you think I am Feng Dao?"
It was not just Lu Haowen. All the ministers who flocked to Yanfu Palace after hearing the news today were well-educated. Even a successful Jinshi. So everyone realized...the emperor and the prime minister were simply learning from the words between Zhou Shizong Chai Rong and Feng Dao before the decisive battle with the Khitan in "New History of the Five Dynasties".
Among them, Zhao Guanjia learned from Zhou Shizong Chai Rong and was also the inducer, while Lu Haowen was regarded as Feng Dao.
However, after they figured it out, everyone's faces became even worse.
After all, although Zhou Shizong won that battle and established the foundation of the Later Zhou Dynasty, the endings of the two people in the story were not very auspicious... Not only did Feng Dao have a very bad reputation, he died directly after this battle, and there is no need to say more about Chai Rong's outcome.
Back to the present, Zhao Jiu saw that Lu Haowen had come to his senses, and he also sighed, but then he took two steps forward and went down two steps, and held Lu Haowen's hand, and then he said earnestly: "Mr. Lu, I thought of you as Feng Dao, but I thought of myself as Shi Jingtang, the founding emperor of the Later Jin Dynasty..."
Everyone suddenly froze, confused for a moment, but Lu Haowen's body swayed slightly and he became dazed.
But soon, the other ministers who were familiar with the story also came to their senses, and then became frightened or suspicious, but among the fear and suspicion, some people were actually instinctively surprised.
Feng Dao served ten emperors, including Shi Jingtang, the founding emperor of the Later Jin Dynasty. The most famous story between Shi Jingtang and Feng Dao was that Shi Jingtang entrusted his son to Feng Dao before his death... Although Shi Jingtang was a famous child emperor, he was probably the emperor who respected and trusted Feng Dao the most. When he was alive, he entrusted all government affairs to Feng Dao, and before he died, he gave his infant son to Feng Dao as a favor to Feng Dao.
Feng Dao took over Shi Jingtang's son and agreed to his entrustment. But when Shi Jingtang passed away, Feng Dao turned around and established Shi Jingtang's adult nephew as the heir apparent in the name of "the country relies on the eldest son."
"When I read the New History of the Five Dynasties, I felt that Ouyang Xiu's literary talent was indeed outstanding, but other aspects were too poor... For example, when Shi Jingtang entrusted his son to Feng Dao, Ouyang Yongshu ridiculed Feng Dao for being disloyal and immoral." Zhao Jiu held Lu Haowen's hand and told the story. When he came to this point, he suddenly chuckled. "I didn't feel deeply about this kind of thing before, and even felt that Feng Dao had let Shi Jingtang down a bit. But since I came back this time and learned that Concubine Pan was pregnant, I could barely call myself a 'father' again, but I suddenly realized that Feng Dao was really doing his best to repay Shi Jingtang's kindness! And Shi Jingtang didn't say a word before his death, he just let his young son be taken to Feng Dao, and he didn't ask for the throne for his young son. That's not what a father should do! Because with the chaos of the Five Dynasties, forcing a baby in swaddling clothes to support him is not sending him to death? And Feng Dao's behavior is really worthy of Shi Jingtang's trust. In fact, if I remember correctly, Shi Jingtang's son lived well until the demise of the Later Jin Dynasty, and he died of illness."
"Your Majesty..." Lu Haowen burst into tears, as if he had guessed what Zhao Jiu meant.
"Prime Minister Lu, my lords." Zhao Jiu continued to hold Lu Haowen's hand, but suddenly turned to the important ministers and spoke solemnly. "Let me tell you something from my heart today... Today I am here to wait for you. I am not so impatient as to leave without making military arrangements, and I will not treat you, my trusted ministers, as nothing."
Most people were speechless, as if they had already realized this, but more and more people began to cry like Lu Haowen.
"Since you are my confidant, I have something to say. Although I know that I will annoy you if I say it, I will not be willing to die if I cannot tell you." Zhao Jiu looked at these people with rare sincerity. "You should have seen it long ago. I hate the two saints! But I especially hate the Emperor Taishang Daojun! Because during the Jingkang period, he abandoned the people as the Son of Heaven, abandoned his ministers as the King, abandoned his son as the father, and abandoned his wife as the husband! He is not worthy of being a king, a father , or a husband! But the more I hate him, the more I cannot repeat the same mistakes at this time... Tell me, how can I abandon millions of people in Guanxi when I will have children? If I live like this, how will my children look at me in the future? Even now, how can I really abandon you without saying a word and leave directly? This time, it is no different from the previous time. There is a reason why I have to go! I hope you can understand!"
If the first half of these words were said in the imperial court, all the civil and military officials would have had no choice but to resign... But today, speaking of the father and son, considering the urgent military situation in the front, the news that Concubine Pan was pregnant, and the emperor's sincere attitude, especially considering Emperor Zhao's special status as a son and a father, it seems that besides being extremely rebellious, it also has a bit of humanity.
It was enough to prevent these important officials from saying anything blaming him on the spot.
But even so, everyone, including the instigators such as Yang Yizhong, Lin Jingmo, and Liu Yan who were hiding behind the Yiyou Gate, all lowered their heads and pretended not to hear anything.
"Mr. Lu." Zhao Jiu finally turned to Lu Haowen and called him Mr. Lu. Then, he said it again after the words slipped out of his mouth. Obviously, he was not only explaining to Lu Haowen. "To be honest with you, I went to the front line today for this battle, because this battle cannot be avoided at all, but as you said, this battle is dangerous! As we are king and subject, I have only one request to you... That is, if something unexpected happens to me, and Concubine Pan gives birth to a prince, please do not learn from Zhuge Wuhou, but treat this child like Feng Dao... In the name of the queen mother, on the grounds that the country relies on the eldest son, pick a decent one from the sons of the Grand Master of the Imperial Clan to be the emperor, and then summon Li Gang to be the prime minister, and use Yue Fei, Han Shizhong, Zhang Rong, and Li Yanxian. The country may not be unable to recover. As for my child, please take them to the southeast together, and let them be idle members of the royal family... In this way, I, Zhao Jiu, will be grateful even if I die! It will not be in vain for our relationship as king and subject!"
As he spoke, Zhao Jiu shook Lu Haowen's hand and bowed.
Lu Haowen had already burst into tears. As for the other ministers, although their reactions varied, they no longer knew how to stop the emperor.
