Volume 4 Chapter 30: New Wine
"The emperor's behavior yesterday was too absurd... The Tanguts have been secretly separatist in the Hetao area since the Later Tang Dynasty, forming their own system. How could they possibly cross the Hulu River with 50,000 elite troops and march down steadily and steadily?"
"What the emperor meant was that our dynasty has not been able to destroy Xixia for a hundred years, but has suffered heavy casualties, leading to the current situation. He did not mean to say where to start the attack."
"In my opinion, the emperor is not talking about losing troops and generals. This is Xiang Zhuang dancing with a sword, aiming at Pei Gong!"
"What do you mean?"
"The key lies in the four words 'civil and military system'... The government's anger today started with the cavalry, extended to the horse policy, and finally fell on Xixia. But that was only based on these things. In the end, the focus was on the civil officials managing the military and harming the country and the army..."
“That makes sense.”
"What is torque?"
"The vocabulary from the newspaper the day before yesterday, the principle of torque and lever, the original article about using a little force to move a great object... I tried it at home."
"oh……"
"And Qu Duan, his last words were really abominable, we must severely impeach him... He was the first to worry about the world and the last to enjoy the world. How could such a famous minister throughout history like Fan Wenzheng Gong become incompetent?"
"Who is Qu Duan? What's the point of impeaching him? He is just a well-read and articulate warrior. He is not worth mentioning."
"Besides, this man is the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Camp. If the government doesn't move him, no one else can move him!"
"I think your majesty is indeed targeting Pei Gong when Xiang Zhuang dances with a sword, but this Pei Gong is not a civil or military official!"
"What do you mean?"
"What can I say? Do you remember the incident when Han Shizhong's troops rebelled and killed the censor? It was Xianggong who narrowly escaped death and later took the emperor to see Han Shizhong, which led to his appointment as the transport commissioner of Huainan and the two routes... And the emperor also said yesterday that when the world is stable, it is right to control the military with civil power."
"So what?"
"So what? This shows that the government has a plan in mind. They know that the military men are acting recklessly. The emphasis on the system of civil and military affairs at this time is intended to emphasize wartime. In the final analysis, it is still on the two words "Northern Expedition"! Or in other words, it is on the two words "war and peace"!"
"Is it really impossible to be together?"
"Not only can we not make peace, I'm afraid that in the future, in addition to the Jin people, we will also have to focus on Xixia, Dali, Nanyue, and even Goryeo."
"That's right."
"Against what?"
"The idea in the court bulletin about the unification of China and the nine provinces roughly means that the places that have existed since ancient times should belong to this dynasty, and those who fail to take them are unworthy descendants... Don't you guys read the court bulletin?"
"Of course I read the court report, but if you hadn't said anything, I wouldn't have thought about it. Today, it seems that the government has been scheming for so long, but it's just one sentence... Are you determined to fight despite all the difficulties?!"
"The official bulletin is becoming more and more important, but Hu Quan just happens to be that kind of person."
"Although Hu Quan is a strong advocate of war, he is a serious civil servant after all, and he doesn't like people like Qu Duan. It's like Wang Butang is also in favor of war, but he and Qu Duan are mortal enemies... Can we use the power of these two to criticize and impeach Qu Duan by pointing out the discussion of civil and military affairs and the affairs of Western Xia?"
"Perhaps it is possible, but it will be difficult to make a difference in the overall situation. Even Qu Duan may not be able to sway it. After all, the government is too protective of these military officials."
"Hey, who can persuade the government?"
"Of course I know that I can't persuade the emperor, but can I use this to cause rebellion among them? You must know that those who advocate war are divided into civil and military. Not everyone is as clean as Yue Pengju, and not everyone has the great achievements of Han Shizhong! Qu Duan is the biggest loophole among the generals..."
"That's a bit too much..."
"I have something to say. Why can't the emperor just get angry because of the hot weather and the warhorse incident, and end up really angry and curse wantonly? Why must Xiang Zhuang's sword dance be aimed at Pei Gong?"
"Well……"
"What's the noise outside?" Just when the scene was gradually becoming quiet for some unknown reason, on the Qingfeng Tower, the Minister of Personnel Liu Dazhong suddenly heard a commotion outside the window and asked curiously.
"Don't forget, ministers. Tomorrow is Buddha Bathing Day." Without even having to look, the Censor Li Jing (Li Gang's third brother) blurted out, "Among the ten great temples in the capital, except for Xiangguo Temple, which cannot hold grand rituals, the other nine temples still have to do so. The city is very lively these days."
"That's right." Zhongshu Sheren Fan Zongyin also smiled. "After the Buddha's Bathing Festival, there will be more fruits and vegetables, and the big stores will also release their own new wines, and the market scene in Tokyo will be completely changed... In the past, in the capital, my favorite thing was the new wine and new apricots from Qingfeng Tower."
Everyone present, except Chief Censor Li Guang and others, laughed and said that they would come here to taste the new wine and new apricots during the next ten days off. The lower-level officials who were smart enough even called the owner of Qingfeng Tower directly to reserve the new wine.
Amid the commotion, everyone temporarily put aside the official's wanton and unwarranted remarks today, took a short break, and then started talking about the various scenes in Tokyo that were gradually recovering, but in the end, they couldn't help but talk about the official.
One said that on the first day of March, the emperor should have inspected Jinming Lake and Qionglin Garden to have fun with the people and the scholars, but instead he went to Zhang Rong's army on the Yellow River in the north to comfort the imperial navy; another said that on the Cold Food Festival and Qingming Festival in mid-March, the emperor should have gone out of the city to sweep the tombs, but he just asked Concubine Pan to make a flying swallow and distribute it to all officials and government offices, and still only sent the Grand Secretary to sweep the tombs... the reason was that he had not yet decided where to go in the north and had no face to sweep the tombs for his ancestors.
However, in the midst of the commotion, the Minister of Personnel Liu Dazhong suddenly remembered something and asked curiously, "Isn't the Buddha's Birthday the Buddha's Birthday? Then may I ask when is the official birthday (the Emperor's birthday)? What is the name of the official birthday now?"
It turns out that according to the rules of the Song Dynasty, the emperor's birthday was his birthday, and each emperor's birthday had a unique name.
But what’s interesting is that when these words were spoken, everyone present was stunned, and then no one knew what was going on, but they had to look at Fan Zongyin, the Secretary of the Central Secretariat who often accompanied the emperor.
However, after Fan Zongyin thought about it, he broke out in a sweat and was speechless for a moment.
Seeing this, Chen Gongfu, the Imperial College's chief priest who had not spoken a word, blurted out, "I do know about this... The new Christmas is named Tianshen Festival, which should be on May 21st... The reason why you don't know is that there were four Tianshen Festivals before and after the emperor ascended the throne, but only one was celebrated, which was not long after he ascended the throne in the first year of Jianyan, and it was the Christmas. Even Fan Sheren didn't arrive in Nanjing until after the Tianshen Festival, so he didn't know. But during the Tiansheng Festival, which was the birthday of Empress Dowager Yuanyou, there were regular holidays and rewards for four years."
In the Qingfeng Tower, the high-ranking officials of the imperial court, who had become much more financially comfortable due to the supplementary salary, were silent for a moment, not knowing how to respond to each other. Even Li Guang, the Chief Censor and the most powerful official in the court and a close friend of Chen Gongfu, pinched his beard and remained silent for a moment.
"You have been talking for a long time, but I just kept silent. It's not because I think what you said is not good or right." In silence, Chen Gongfu also continued to sigh. "On the contrary, as a Southeast Asian, I have always known that the Northern Expedition is indeed costly and laborious, and I also know that there will be many difficulties in the Northern Expedition. I also know that the emperor is indeed willful and biased towards military officers, but so what? There is always someone who leads by example. It is said that the court now values military officers over civil officials, and I think so too. It is certainly wrong to spend 80% of the money and food on the imperial camp! But now you and I have both received our salaries and are drinking in the Qingfeng Tower, while the emperor is still chewing sheep's heads in the fish pond of the harem. How can he have the face to impeach such things?"
Everyone knew that Chen Gongfu was Li Guang's best friend, the chief academic officer of the Imperial College, and had rich experience, so they did not dare to refute easily and had to go to see Li Guang and Liu Dazhong.
"Let me say one more thing." Just as Li Guang was about to speak, Chen Gongfu poured himself a glass of wine and drank it all, then turned coldly to his old friend. "Do you think that the ministers are all useless? Even if Zhang Jun and Chen Gui flatter the emperor, Zhao Yuanzhen (Zhao Ding) and Liu Zhifu (Liu Ji), both of whom are serious ministers, have any moral or political problems? And why didn't they refute Ma Zheng and Xixia's arguments today? In my opinion, the emperor was angry and wanted to avoid the edge for a while, but Qu Duan's 'the emperor doesn't eat tens of thousands of sheep now' hit the mark, leaving Zhao Xianggong and Liu Xianggong speechless!"
Many people, including Li Guang and Liu Dazhong, expressed their feelings in response.
"Mr. Fan." Chen Gongfu looked at Fan Zongyin again.
"Chen Jijiu." Fan Zongyin quickly bowed.
"You are a famous young talent in the court. You are plump and fair, with no blemishes on your face. You put on powder every day when you go out. Every time you go to the palace to attend court, you take a bronze mirror in your sleeve and look at yourself several times in private. Everyone calls you Sanzhao Sheren..."
Fan Zongyin was extremely embarrassed.
"Moreover, like me, you have been accompanying the emperor since the first year of Jianyan. Since Nanyang, you have been considered a close minister to the emperor... Then I have a question for you today. The emperor is also famous for his dignified appearance. Does he spend as much effort on dressing up as you do? And do you dare to submit a memorial to impeach the emperor for being vain and extravagant?"
Fan Zongyin became more speechless.
But after Chen Gongfu finished speaking, he simply stood up from the table , bowed to everyone, and shocked everyone in the room to stand up.
Chen Gongfu also stood up calmly and said: "At least half of the people present here today are my old friends. We should have a good chat. Even if we come to drink new wine and taste new apricots in the future, I will have no reason to refuse... But I also have something to say to you from the bottom of my heart."
The rest of the people looked at each other, most of them were at a loss.
"Since the Jingkang period, I have been with the emperor for four years. From the panic in Huaishang to the establishment of Nanyang, and then to the restoration of the old capital, I have witnessed the country's rejuvenation. I have long had a preconception in my heart, that is, the country cannot be safe without the current emperor!" Chen Gongfu continued proudly. "The current emperor is determined to fight the north with the safety of the nine provinces and the two rivers in mind. Although we have some distracting thoughts, we know that if we cannot change the emperor's mind on such a major matter, we should do our job and do some practical things... I also advise you to deal with the matter at hand. If the emperor is not doing well and the military officials are domineering, we should advise them and impeach them, but don't try to shake the overall situation, let alone use any evil means to provoke party disputes! Otherwise, it will not only harm the country and the people, but also seek death!"
After saying that, Chen Gongfu turned around and left, leaving many people stunned for a moment.
After a long while, Li Guang finally sighed with a wry smile: "This Chen Guozuo (Chen Gongfu) character is still so wanton... It seems that we are all acting out of selfish motives."
Liu Dazhong also shook his head: "In fact, he has been talking about this for a long time, doesn't it mean that the government is determined to do what it wants and can't be stopped?"
"Son of Heaven! Son of Heaven!" Someone else sighed and shook his head. "No wonder the emperor was so angry yesterday and no one dared to speak..."
"Then should we push Wang Butang and Hu Quan to impeach Qu Duan together?" someone else asked.
"Qu Duan is rude and disobedient, so he should still be impeached. However, as the Chief Censor, I don't need to rely on the help of others!" Li Guang made the decision in one word.
Many people nodded to each other, but no one responded.
April 8th is Buddha's Birthday.
In Tokyo, nine of the ten major temples were celebrating and performing "Mulian Saves His Mother" on a large scale. At the same time, Emperor Zhao watched a newly staged "Legend of the White Snake" in Gyeongbokgung Palace.
In the following days, this new play quickly became popular in Tokyo, but it caused strong dissatisfaction among the monks because it seriously affected the Buddha's Bathing Festival rituals.
Finally, the monks, led by Fahe, the abbot of the Shaolin Temple branch in Tokyo City, jointly wrote a letter to the court, requesting that an end be put to the play that slandered Buddhism… Because according to their research, the story of the Legend of the White Snake clearly originated from the Luoyang python incident during the Tang Dynasty. In that incident, it was clearly the python that wanted to assist An Lushan in flooding Luoyang, and was subdued by the monk Shanwuwei. However, rumors spread, turning it into a ridiculous play in which the monks of the Shaolin Temple broke up human relations, the white snake flooded the Shaolin Temple, and finally the monk Fahai suffered retribution and escaped into the belly of a crab.
In response to this, Emperor Zhao, who had always been protective of religious figures, immediately replied personally that Shaolin Temple had served the country and the people and had made many contributions to the court in times of difficulty, and that it must not be slandered easily. However, he personally asked the person who wrote the play, who was told that the story roughly came from a Taoist priest from the Five Mountains Temple, so he immediately asked the Taoist priest from the Five Mountains Temple to come out and explain to Fahe.
Then, the abbot of Wuyue Temple came out in person to explain to Fahe, firstly saying that this white snake was not a giant python from the Tang Dynasty, but the disciple of Lishan Laomu and so on; he also said that Xu Xuan, who opened a drugstore in Tokyo in the play, also existed as a person, and was a person of Renzong's reign, and that things like borrowing an umbrella when encountering rain at Jinming Lake were all told to his master by Xu Xuan's brother-in-law, Ma Han, the leader of the Kaifeng government servants... Of course, his master, who had just ascended to heaven last year, lived to be a hundred years old; finally, he also said that the great monks of Shaolin Temple subdued the snake demon, and asked Xu Xuan to collect alms and build a pagoda to suppress the snake demon, which was naturally a great merit and a good thing. As for why Xu Xuan's son succeeded in saving his mother by offering sacrifice to the pagoda, while the monk Fahai fled for five thousand miles and could only escape to the belly of a crab in the south of the Yangtze River to survive, it was because Lishan Laomu had boundless magical powers, and her disciple Bai Suzhen, who had no worries because of Xu Xuan's death, was better than the monks of Shaolin Temple.
As the saying goes, the power of my Buddha is boundless, so Fahe certainly did not accept this explanation! So the two sides went back and forth, debating all day long, one saying that my Buddha holds three thousand worlds in his palm, the other saying that the purple air of the Taoist master came from the east for thirty thousand miles, which attracted countless topics of conversation.
However, Fahe and the monks from the various temples in the city knew better and only went to settle accounts with the Taoists from Wuyue Temple. But that didn't mean that others knew better. Moreover, it was just a play and it was insignificant. The monks were just trying to make their presence felt. It was a joke. In comparison, some court strategies should not be taken lightly... For example, after the Buddha's Bathing Festival, Emperor Zhao sat in the palace these days, and received many memorials about the incident at Yuetai that day.
These memorials can be roughly divided into three categories.
The first category was naturally the ones submitted by Li Guang and other censors. They were mainly responsible for admonishing the emperor and impeaching Qu Duan. Their only goal was to ask Emperor Zhao to maintain the demeanor of a ruler and not lose his composure like he did that day at Yuetai. At the same time, Qu Duan maliciously slandered the wise men... Among them, Fan Zhongyan's descendant Xiao Fan Tongzhi and Han Qi's descendant Meihua Han also wrote letters to the court, requesting that the court restore the reputation of their ancestors... That was not too bad.
But the latter two categories are interesting.
The first group was represented by Prime Minister Zhao Ding, Deputy Prime Minister Liu Ji, Minister of War Hu Shijiang, and Minister of the Honglu Temple Zhai Ruwen. They each wrote a letter in which they elaborated on the rise of Western Xia during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, described the process and current situation of the "barbarianization" of the Hetao region, and bluntly stated that the founding of Western Xia was not a fluke. On the contrary, if anyone wanted to plot against Western Xia by chance, they would only suffer heavy losses, causing the real Northern Expedition to be frustrated for no reason.
The other group was headed by Privy Councilor Zhang Jun, Deputy Privy Councilor Chen Gui, Minister of Punishments Wang Shu, Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Cavalry Qu Duan, Deputy Commander-in-Chief Liu Qi, and Deputy Commander-in-Chief Li Shifu. They wrote a letter to the emperor suggesting that they could attack Western Xia to enrich themselves, and the issue of the Imperial Cavalry's lack of horses would be automatically resolved.
These two memorials with almost opposite opinions and views immediately made Emperor Zhao confused, and the blisters at the corners of his mouth became more serious.
You must know that, to be honest, after Zhao Jiu was forced into a corner due to the lack of horses for his cavalry, he did think of destroying Western Xia first, but the problem was that according to the current intelligence, Li Qianshun was not a waste, and even though Western Xia lost 30,000 cavalry at the hands of Lou Shi, it still had enough combat power.
It seems that he is not a soft persimmon.
So, Zhao Jiu simply called the two groups to the Wende Hall and asked them to debate in public, but the debate between the two groups in the hall, like the debate between the Buddhist and Taoist groups in the city, soon fell into a vicious circle.
The thing is... Zhao Ding and his gang believed that since the imperial court had failed to conquer Western Xia in a hundred years, then rushing for success this time would inevitably fail, and failure would lead to a setback in the overall situation and the gains would outweigh the losses. However, Zhang Jun and his gang believed that the times had changed and after the tempering of fighting with the Jin people, the army's combat effectiveness was simply not comparable to that of the previous hundred years, so there was a great probability of success. Chen Gui especially proposed that with the sealing and power of today's gunpowder bags, as long as the army pressed to the front of Lingzhou City, they could immediately break the city without firing any cannons.
However, as the saying goes, practice is the only criterion for testing truth. For now, such a vague indicator as combat power cannot be quantified. Unless we go to Xixia in person, we can verify who is right and who is wrong.
But the problem arises. If the verification is wrong, it will be a loss-making result. It is even likely to push the currently cautious and neutral Western Xia to the Jin people. Once Western Xia unites with the Jin people, considering that Yan'an is still in the hands of the Jin people, then Jin and Xia will be connected in the north, which will create huge military pressure on the Guanzhong direction... By then, let alone war horses, it will be difficult to cross the river to Hedong.
In a word, although practice is the only criterion for testing truth, the cost of practice this time is too high, so high that the overall situation of Song and Jin is at stake. No one can make a decision based on the words of a few ministers.
Therefore, the matter soon came to a stalemate.
But soon, something came to break the deadlock... In late April, "Mulian Saves His Mother" and "The Legend of White Snake" were still in full swing in Tokyo City. New fruits and new wines brewed by various stores had just been released. Just when the vitality of Tokyo City reached a higher level with the change of seasons, the Jin envoy Ulinda Zanmo came to Tokyo City again.
Also accompanying him was Han Xiaozhou, the head of the Meihua Han family and former envoy, who had been detained in Daming Prefecture by Nianhan for nearly half a year.
Not only that, they also included Princess Shunde Zhao Yingluo who had been forcibly occupied by Wanyan Nianhan, Princess Jiade Zhao Yupan who was taken as a concubine by Wuqimai's eldest son Puruhu, Princess Rongde Zhao Jinnu who was taken as a concubine by Talan, Princess Xunde Zhao Fujin who was taken as a concubine by Nianhan's eldest son Sheyeman, Princess Yifu Zhao Yuanzhu who was taken as a concubine by Wuzhu, Princess Ningfu Zhao Chuanzhu who was taken as a concubine by Eluguan (Wuzhu's sixth brother), and Princess Roufu Zhao Duofu who was in Wuqimai's palace at that time. More than a hundred looted princesses, noble ladies, and common people were also brought back... These should be all the women abducted during the Jing Kang period who could be found in the residences of Jin Dynasty dignitaries in Yanjing City.
Zhao Jiu had no reason to not allow these people to come back, nor did he have any reason to refuse Ulindazanmo who sent these people back.
After Wulindazanmo entered Tokyo, a piece of news quickly spread along with the resettlement and return of these looted princesses and commoner women... The Jin Kingdom wanted to negotiate peace, and was willing to unconditionally return the two saints and all the looted royal relatives, nobles, imperial concubines and princesses below the princes to show its sincerity.
Even the Second Saint and the other princes can be released the same day after the peace talks are concluded... and then follow the example of the Liao Kingdom and become brothers.
After the Ministry of Rites, which was still unaware of this, had a hasty contact with him, Wulindazanmo not only came up and took the initiative to tell him the news, but also further stated that the new emperor of the Great Jin was willing to sign a secret agreement with the Great Song to depose Liu Yu, who had proclaimed himself emperor... in order to reach a peace treaty between the two countries.
When the news reached the capital, the elites of the empire understood it almost instantly... If they directly said that Liu Yu's throne should be abolished at this time, it meant that several counties in Jingdong could be negotiated... The North was really sincere in this peace negotiation!
As a result, almost everyone inside and outside the court, and among the people at all levels, was shaken.
It was like the so-and-so effect, the more you worry about something, the more it will happen. The strategic inducement that you have been afraid of for a long time finally appeared. Therefore, when the news reached the palace, Emperor Zhao, who had not yet had time to meet Han Xiaozhou and the princesses, immediately fell into a state of impotent rage... What Xixia, what cavalry, how could he care about it at this time?
After all, for Zhao Jiu, once the peace talks were reached, he had no idea whether he could mobilize this lame country again and carry out the Northern Expedition... This was what he feared the most. Therefore, the moment the news came, Zhao Jiu immediately felt a strange and frustrated state of failure in the main mission!
