Volume 4 Chapter 22 Fish Soup
On March 18, Emperor Zhao formally summoned the Jin envoy Wulinda Zanmo to the Wende Hall, along with Prime Minister Lu Haowen, four prime ministers, six secretaries, nine ministers, all censors from the rank of Zhongcheng of the Censorate, all scholars, all judges and directors of the court, all key officials directly under the provincial government, the Privy Council, and the imperial camp, all the left and right commanders of the imperial camp's central army, and all the commanders of the imperial capital city, all of whom were listed in the hall.
It can be said that the Song court put on the most solemn attitude possible just for the sake of a mere envoy from the Jin Kingdom.
However, this gesture did not make the Jin envoy Wulinda Zanmo feel that he was being treated with any courtesy... On the contrary, after receiving the notice from the Honglu Temple, this experienced diplomat realized that his mission would most likely end here.
The reason is very simple. If the Zhao Song government really wanted to negotiate peace, it would have allowed the people from the capital province, the Privy Council, the Ministry of Rites, and the Honglu Temple to discuss it in detail from beginning to end, and then they would have discussed it repeatedly before the formal meeting to draft the relevant terms, and they would even have been very particular about the etiquette in the palace and the format of the relevant documents.
And now that it's such a quick and formal summons, there's basically only one way to go: meet him in person for a while and then send him away.
However, having said that, as an important official of the Jin Dynasty, how could Wulinda Zanmo not know the true mentality of the Jin Dynasty's top leaders, and how could he not know what the mission of his trip was?
Therefore, this person just sighed but did not feel embarrassed.
When the two sides met, perhaps due to the influence of last year's war, Ulinda Zanmo did not make any trouble with the etiquette and greeted each other directly according to the etiquette between the monarch and his subjects. After the greetings, the conversation that followed was extremely direct.
"What are Nianhan's conditions?" Zhao Jiu said expressionlessly, going straight to the point.
"Guolun Bogile led the Grand Marshal (Nianhan) to temporarily take charge of the country's politics and military affairs under the order of the king (Wuqimai). Before the foreign ministers left, they did explain that the two countries had been fighting for a long time, with many casualties, and that God was merciful..."
"Just tell me the conditions directly." Zhao Jiu interrupted the other party without changing his expression.
"No conditions." Wulin Dazanmo stood in the hall with his head held high. "What the commander-in-chief of the capital, Guolun Bogile, meant is that although there was a winner and a loser in the battle of Yaoshan, at the root, it was just that the Song Dynasty defended Guanzhong, and the situation of the Jin Dynasty being strong and the Song Dynasty being weak remained unchanged... At this time, the Jin Dynasty's willingness to negotiate peace unconditionally is already a favor."
The five ministers all had stern expressions on their faces, and the civil and military officials around them were in an uproar, many of them unable to hold back and ready to step forward to refute.
"Well said." At this moment, the young official on the throne nodded. "At this time, Jin is strong and Song is weak. I agree with that... You come to say this in person, so that some young officials who are still immersed in the battle of Yaoshan can wake up. But Wulinda... your last name is Wulinda, right?"
"Yes." Wulinda Zanmo was stunned for a moment before he bowed his head. "I am from the Jurchen Wulinda clan."
"Wulin Daqing... I agree with you about the word strong and weak, but can this matter be judged by strength and weakness? No matter how strong the Jin Kingdom is now, is it as strong as it was four years ago? No matter how weak my side is, is it as weak as it was four years ago?" Zhao Jiu continued to face him calmly, with no expression. "Four years ago, I didn't want to make peace, why do I want to negotiate peace with you now?"
Wulinda Zanmo frowned for a moment: "Then your majesty, when do you think peace can be achieved? Two great countries thousands of miles apart cannot keep fighting like this forever, right?"
"It's easy to make peace. Yanshan is the boundary. Jin will become a vassal of Song, return all the people and gold and silver plundered from Bianliang, and kill Nianhan, Wuzhu, Talan, Xiyin, Huonu, Yinshuke, and Balisu to show sincerity... Then, peace will be possible." Zhao Jiu said slowly. "The Jurchens are a native ethnic group in Liao. After all, we are all brothers, sharing the same border. Once the war crimes of the high-level officials are cleared up, I am willing to accept you."
The hall was silent for four or five breaths. Not to mention Wulindazanmo, even the Song court was a little dazed. Only a few important officials who had followed the official for a long time glanced at the official's expression, and they were frightened and their faces became more serious.
"Your Majesty, don't joke..." Wulinda Zanmo suppressed his anger. "The Great Jin respects your Majesty's four years of hard work, so they came to negotiate peace, but your Majesty's response is not the serious words of a ruler of a country."
"This is serious talk." Zhao Jiu's expression remained unchanged. "This is my original intention."
"Then we can only say that Your Majesty is daydreaming!" Wulindazanmo immediately protested.
"It's just a daydream." Zhao Jiu remained calm and composed. "However, if you had told me about Nianhan's intention to attack Bianjing when you first came to this palace, I'm afraid all the civil and military officials in the palace would have thought that Nianhan was dreaming... But didn't Nianhan's dream come true? Then why do you say that my daydream can't come true?"
"Your Majesty." Wulinda Zanmo sighed and looked at him seriously. "The Great Jin is indeed sincere in negotiating peace this time. Even if it cannot be achieved for the time being, why must we force the words to this extent?"
"Wulin's answer shows his sincerity." Zhao Jiu seemed to be thinking. "I also roughly understand what you mean... You mean, after the Jingkang Incident, the situation has been entangled for four or five years. After the Yaoshan Battle, although the Jin Kingdom still has the advantage militarily, it is also gradually declining. The people in the Jin Kingdom also realized that it is useless to continue fighting like this, so they are indeed in a state of negotiating peace. Although Nianhan, who is in power now, is also clear about it, he cannot show weakness easily because of the defeat of the Western Route Army and Wuqimai's stroke He can only sign an unconditional ceasefire agreement to avoid the embarrassment of whether to send troops after this autumn. The situation may change. Either Nianhan stabilizes the situation, or one of the Wushu brothers, Wuqimai, or Talan regains power. By then, there may be a peace agreement with practical benefits. Is that what you mean?"
Wulinda Zanmo was born as a retainer of Nianhan, so how could he answer such a question? He just stood there in silence.
"Wulin Daqing." Zhao Jiu finally sighed. "Let me ask you again, when you were ordered by Nianhan to come here to make a maritime alliance and discuss with Wang Fu how to divide the border of Liao, were you also so sincere?"
Wulinda Zanmo was finally moved, but he was speechless. The civil and military officials around him were also disappointed.
"I thought that you and Wang Fu were both very sincere at that time, but after Nianhan saw that the Song Dynasty was prosperous on the surface but weak on the inside, didn't he still decisively go south?" Zhao Jiu sighed, put away the unnecessary expression, and continued to narrate calmly. "So, what's the use of your sincerity today?"
"If your majesty says so, I have nothing to say." Wulinda Zanmo also felt bored. "I brought the conditions of the Great Jin Kingdom here, and the emperor made new conditions for the Great Song Dynasty. The difference is so great that I don't need to report back... Of course, I don't dare to report back with that condition... According to what I said, it's better to directly assert that this peace negotiation is not going to work, right?!"
"That's about it." Zhao Jiu nodded in agreement.
"Then I will take my leave." Wulinda Zanmo bowed his hands, but couldn't help but say one more thing. "But there is one thing I want to say before I leave..."
"No problem."
"On that day, between Song and Jin, it was the Song that broke the agreement first!"
"I know." Zhao Jiu nodded in response. "It was indeed the Song Dynasty that broke the agreement first, and it was the more cowardly and incompetent party that broke the agreement... Therefore, the Emperor Taishang Daojun brought disgrace upon himself!"
All the civil and military officials in the court had no time to react and were stunned.
But Zhao Jiu was not in a hurry and still did not give anyone a chance to speak: "But I advocate war today, but it has nothing to do with people like Guo Yaoshi and Zhang Jue at that time, and it has nothing to do with the Emperor Taishang Daojun... I am thinking about it, but since the Jingkang period, blood has flowed everywhere, and the hatred is difficult to resolve."
Wulinda Zanmo didn't know what to say, and he didn't know what to say.
"I have a book here, which records a small part of my hatred with you Jurchens... You can take it back and report it." Zhao Jiu said, and Yang Yizhong, who was fully armed, came directly from the side door to the hall holding something. "This is it, it is the "Dongjing Menghualu" that I copied overnight, Wu Lindaqing, take your time to read it on the way back."
Wulindazanmo was stunned for a moment, and just took the book blankly. From Zhao Ding down, all the officials, regardless of their official positions, who had wanted to speak several times, now bowed their heads and remained silent... Wulindazanmo didn't know what "Dongjing Menghualu" was about, but the emperor's actions in the past few days were there, and the book was widely circulated. Any important official who was a little interested would have known its contents long ago.
Anyone who knows the content will understand what the official means - if you want to negotiate peace, give me back the bustling Tokyo City like the one in the book!
"Now that things have come to this, I have one last thing to ask you." After sending the book away, Zhao Jiu sat on the throne in a red robe, but finally showed a hint of life. "Tell me the truth, did Wu Qimai really have a stroke?"
Wulinda Zanmo was furious for a moment, but he could only hold the book and answer seriously: "Let your Majesty know, and trouble your Majesty to worry... My king did go out to race horses in the spring, drank too much, and then suffered a stroke."
"Got it, let's go!" After hearing this, Zhao Jiu didn't respond, but raised his hand to urge.
Even though Wulindazanmo had anticipated the outcome of today's meeting, he didn't know what to say when he left within less than an incense stick of time. He could only bow his head and walk out of the Wende Hall.
As soon as the person left, the palace was inevitably in an uproar. After all, some of what Emperor Zhao said just now was really too much! But there was a copy of "Dreams of the Capital" lying there, so no one dared to take the lead, for fear that the emperor would smear hundreds of dish names on their faces and then demote them without knowing why.
Amid the loud noise, several ministers who were the heads of all officials and some important ministers all had stern expressions on their faces. No one moved or spoke at all... It was because these people were not only worried about being dazzled by the names of hundreds of dishes, they had followed this official for a long time and knew his temper. How could they not know that today's matter was not over yet?
"I originally wanted to announce the names of the dishes directly in front of the Jin envoy."
In the gradually quiet hall, Zhao Jiu looked at the civil and military officials in the hall and couldn't help laughing. "But after thinking about it, it's a bit embarrassing. How can the Jurchens care about you not being able to eat anything in your life and then resent you? But you gentlemen, if you are interested, you might as well go back and buy a copy of "Dongjing Menghualu", and then look at this book to see why I don't want to negotiate peace with the Jin people... I followed the map a few days ago and found that the roughly classified markets recorded in this book have recovered, but when it comes to the famous shops with signs and characteristics, it is a big deal if only one out of ten shops can survive. There are hundreds of dishes, and I don't know what they taste like, so I can't find them. I am also resentful of the Jin people, so I just drove Wulinda Zanmo away."
This statement was so clear that even a rough man like Wang De could fully understand it.
"Later, a few eunuchs saw that I was unhappy, so they wanted to coax me, saying that the food in "Dongjing Menghualu" was not complete, and they had been in Dongjing for a long time, and knew a lot of old brands, so they volunteered to find other old brands for me." Zhao Guanjia, dressed in a red robe, continued to chatter. "After searching for several days, I only found Song Wusao, who made fish soup. As a result, Song Wusao's mansion and store were burned by the rebels before Zong Zhongwu recovered Dongjing. After returning, she couldn't afford to build a house, so she and her husband could only carry the load to sell... I met the eldest sister-in-law yesterday, first I paid for her to buy a store on Ma Xing Street, and then told her that when the fish in my harem fish pond is out of the pond, I will supply her family first, and you might as well take care of the business when the time comes... I can only say that "Dongjing Menghualu" is a very good name. At least the author knows that the past is like a dream, and it was ruined by the Jin people, and it is gone and can never come back!"
Emperor Zhao spoke calmly and with a kind expression, but the civil and military officials below were actually panicking.
After all, how could everyone not understand what Emperor Zhao meant by this? Moreover, all these officials had experienced the city of Dongjing before the Jingkang Incident. After the panic, many of them became depressed.
After waiting for a while, seeing that the emperor had listened to a long speech, Lu Haowen sighed, then led all the officials out of the hall, bowed and apologized.
"What does this have to do with you? Isn't it because the Second Saints neglected state affairs and the six thieves caused chaos in the country?" Zhao Jiu suddenly turned the topic back to the Second Saints.
Now, some loyal ministers who had just tried hard to ignore the previous words "bringing shame upon oneself" could no longer bear it and wanted to speak immediately.
But Zhao Jiu seemed to have expected this, and did not let these people bow. Instead, he suddenly raised his hand and gave an order, saying something abrupt: "Close the door!"
Upon hearing the king's order, Liu Yan, who had been prepared in front of the door, immediately led dozens of soldiers to close the main door of the main hall. Not only that, the side doors on the left and right, and some side windows were also closed... Although it was morning, the doors and windows of the huge palace were all closed, and there was no candle inside, so the light suddenly dimmed, and only dark shadows could be seen.
The civil and military officials gathered in the middle of the hall were horrified and panicked for a moment, but did not dare to move.
"Your Majesty!" In the darkness, several ministers questioned almost at the same time.
"Don't panic. I have always wanted to be frank with you all, but I also know that some things cannot be said in person. If we really say them, there will be no room for maneuver between the monarch and his subjects." Zhao Jiu, who was sitting on the throne, spoke seriously in the dim light, which was not dark enough. "Now, I want to imitate the story of King Zhuang of Chu and make a decision with you all... First, all of you take a few steps back and disrupt the order in the middle of the hall."
There was obvious hesitation and wavering among the ministers in the palace, but under the leadership of the few ministers in the front who had fallen silent, they retreated collectively in accordance with the king's order and disrupted the order of official ranks.
"Stop!" Zhao Jiu said at the right time. "At this time, let's not worry about the small details, just talk about one important thing... Those of you who really think that we can negotiate peace unconditionally, now lower your heads and go to the left, and those who think that we can't negotiate peace, go to the right, but you are not allowed to stay in the middle... I only look at the number, I will not distinguish."
The ministers instinctively raised their heads to look at the figure on the throne, and sure enough, there was only a rough outline of the figure, and they were also shocked.
After a moment, one person actually went to the left, and the rest of the people, after a slight hesitation, went to the right.
"I understand, come back!" Zhao Jiu waited for a moment and took the initiative to say again.
And the man really lowered his head and turned back to the queue.
"If the Jin people promise to return northern Shaanxi and eastern Beijing, and all the land on this side of the Yellow River, as a way to negotiate peace...if you think this is acceptable, go left."
This time, the scale of hesitation and commotion was even larger, and soon, under the leadership of the previous person, one quarter of the people went to the left, and three quarters of the people went to the right.
Emperor Zhao did not have any extra reaction to this. He just asked someone to come back and said, "If the Jin people promise to return the two saints and the women and children of the captured nobles in Bianliang, and you think it is a good way to negotiate peace, then go left."
The commotion was obviously getting bigger, and soon, without the person taking the lead at the beginning, the division was completed directly... about one third on the left and two thirds on the right.
In other words, more people agreed to negotiate peace on this condition than on the condition of returning the land.
Zhao Jiu on the throne also fell into silence for a while... Obviously, he still underestimated the influence of filial piety and brotherly love on Confucian officials. In the end, the emperor actually waited for several breaths before letting these obviously uneasy officials come back together.
"For the last time, the biggest concession the Jin people could make is to return the two saints and other captives, hand over the three states of Jingdong, northern Shaanxi and Hewai, and send Liu Yu and Zhe Keqiu back for disposal . Both sides are equal in name, and this is how they negotiate peace... Who thinks this is acceptable?"
This time, because they were already familiar with each other from the previous three times, many people did not hesitate at all and directly divided their forces... The numbers on both sides were surprisingly almost the same.
Zhao Jiu fell silent again... He was not surprised, but sighed. He sighed at the bureaucracy's unconscious desire for stability and peace, as well as their unconscious conservative trend.
Zhao Jiu knew very well that if the door was opened and the light was on, most of these people would choose "disharmony", that is, to be consistent with his position as an official. Even if there were a few who dared to publicly choose "peace can be negotiated", they would most likely be persuaded if he personally went to do the work, or at least be willing to remain silent.
In other words, if he picked out any one person at random from this group, they would all be flawless, as they were all outstanding "trusted and important officials of the government", but in reality, deep down, this group was undoubtedly tending towards conservatism.
There are many reasons... For example, due to financial difficulties, most of the income was thrown into the imperial army. The issuance of national debt last winter was a clear proof of this. In this case, it is normal for relevant officials who have contact with finance and have some sense of responsibility to want to reduce military spending through peace talks and then make improvements. For example, the taxes on the people in the south are heavy. If an official from the south wants to express his instinctive love for his hometown, it is natural.
Tolerating each other for the sake of the country! This phrase has been used for four years.
Before the Battle of Yaoshan, the result of being unable to tolerate each other was death without a burial place, so most people were willing to persevere. The corresponding resistance came in part from the poor objective conditions, and another part from the "giving up" faction who advocated retreating to the southeast. However, these people had long been thrown into the garbage dump of history, so it is better not to mention them.
What happened after the Battle of Yaoshan? After the battle, the life and death issues of the country were resolved, and the corresponding resistance of this term came more from the erosion and rebound of internal slackness.
Zhao Jiu had thought of this a long time ago, and he always believed that this was normal and tolerable... because anyone can slack off and rebound after experiencing four years of such tense days, and people should be allowed to slack off and rebound.
But he never expected that this slackness would accumulate to such an extent and that this backlash would come so quickly.
However, in the dark, Emperor Zhao thought about it and suddenly laughed... Doesn't this prove that he, the emperor, is still irreplaceable?
Without the instinctive conservatism of the entire bureaucracy, how can one demonstrate one's foresight?
When I think about it carefully, I have done a lot of things in the past four years, and the times have changed a lot, but the sense of mission of the times has not diminished at all.
If you traveled to this era and became the emperor, wouldn't you want to fight against the Jin Dynasty?
With this thought in mind, Zhao Jiu simply stood up and said, "Everyone go back to your positions!"
Emperor Zhao kept his promise. After a while, all the ministers returned to their seats and the doors and windows of the palace were opened. The dazzling sunlight shone into the palace, making the ministers feel uncomfortable for a moment. After a while, they realized that the emperor on the throne had disappeared without a trace.
The ministers discussed it a lot, but they could only look at it in dismay.
However, several ministers, whether it was Lu Haowen who had an extraordinary status, or Zhao Ding and Zhang Jun who had distinct administrative styles, all became suspicious.
The things that had just happened, whether it was Emperor Zhao expelling the Jin envoys without giving his ministers any chance to interrupt, or the "self-humiliation" in the middle, or the "Chu Zhuangwang's broken ribbon story" at the end, were all extremely serious political topics.
But just as the ministers were trying to sort out their words and prepare to discuss how to deal with this mess, a very loud voice suddenly came from behind them:
"Those who just went to the left are all Jin spies! The government has said so beforehand, otherwise you will be ruined!"
Everyone turned around and saw Hu Quan, the editor of the Privy Council and the editor-in-chief of the Honglu Temple Gazette, who rarely came to the palace today. He spoke angrily with veins bulging, but then he turned away, as if these words were from the bottom of his heart.
After these words were spoken, many people became frightened and terrified. The five ministers looked at each other, not knowing what to do.
