Volume 4 Chapter 31 Old Bottle
Late April is the time when summer is approaching.
If it does not rain at this time, the moon will be unclear but the stars will be bright at night, and the heat will be steaming during the day; but if it rains, it will not be a heavy rain, but it will rain day and night, with a fragrant breeze coming from the rain, and all things will rush to get moldy.
But Emperor Zhao did not get angry. On the contrary, he became even angrier... The officials from the outer court who came to interact with the emperor almost watched helplessly as the blisters on the corners of Emperor Zhao's mouth became larger and larger, so much so that they had to apply medicine in the end.
Furthermore, these people also soon realized or heard that the official often became furious.
"Does Mr. Zhao know Zhang Quwei?"
At noon that day, in Chongwenyuan, the rain had just stopped for half a day and the heat had subsided a little. Several officials came out of their public housing as usual to have ice porridge in the cool corridor of the courtyard... The Privy Council was on the west side, and the provincial government was on the east side. As soon as they sat down, a doctor from the provincial government could not help but talk to Zhao Ding.
Zhao Ding seemed to be thinking about something, then nodded in agreement: "I've heard of it. It is said that he is a young eunuch sent by Empress Dowager Yuanyou. Later, because he was the most capable in contracting the fish pond, he caught the emperor's attention and was brought to serve him. It is said that he may be promoted to the third shift supervisor... What happened?"
"Let me tell you, sir. This morning I went to the fish pond to deliver documents to several internal officials (Hanlin scholars). I saw with my own eyes that Zhang Quwei was hung up and beaten by several martial arts students in the rain. After being whipped with twenty lashes, he was chased back to Yangzhou." The doctor sneered.
Zhao Ding was puzzled for a moment: "Usually, when eunuchs commit crimes, they are just kicked out or handed over to the officials for formal punishment. This is the first time I heard that the emperor tortured a eunuch... How did Zhang Quwei offend the emperor?"
"I just heard some information from the internal officials, but I can't guarantee its authenticity." The doctor quickly stopped laughing and shook his head solemnly. "It is said that the emperor is very dissatisfied with the peace talks these days, and the envoy Jin happened to bring many princesses..."
"Princess." Liu Ji, the vice chancellor of the capital province, suddenly interrupted and corrected. "Not long after the emperor ascended the throne, the name was changed back."
"Yes, princesses." The doctor corrected quickly. "It just so happened that the Jin envoy brought many princesses with him, so Zhang Quwei came up with an idea to find a day to hold a grand court session and let the princesses cry and complain in court about how barbaric and shameless the Jin people were, making the whole court afraid to talk about peace..."
"This kind of scoundrel is so self-righteous and clever that he deserves to be beaten to death!" Liu Ji cursed loudly on the spot. "If this is done, all officials will be speechless, but I don't know where the dignity of the royal family will be?! How will it be interpreted in the market and in history books in the future?"
"Not only is it a matter of respectability, but even if they are not princesses, can they be brought to the court to expose their own scars?" Zhao Ding was also rarely angry. "And after all, when it comes to national affairs, we should look at the big picture. What does this twisted little thing mean? A eunuch, relying on the favor of the Queen Mother and the Emperor, dares to make such a suggestion?"
"That's right!" Liu Ji responded.
As the two gentlemen became furious, the corridor on the east side of Chongwenyuan suddenly fell silent, but soon it became noisy again, with everyone following the two gentlemen in denouncing the shameless eunuchs, which attracted the attention of people on the west side of Chongwenyuan, which was more than a hundred steps away.
However, after Zhao Ding became angry, he felt helpless... He was different from Liu Ji. As a person who had worked in the middle and lower classes for decades, he knew very well that although all the provincial officials were indignant at the moment, privately, after returning, he didn't know how many of them would write some unofficial histories of their own imagination, exaggerating the process of the abduction of those princesses to satisfy their own dark psychology.
We are all human beings in essence, and as human beings, we will have dark mentalities.
For example, the common people below cannot reach the royal family, so they will privately spread some ridiculous royal secrets; the eunuchs think they know something, so they can't help but interfere; and the officials have some information, but they are kept secret from some things, yet they have to appear righteous on the surface, so they can't help but make up their own stories... Those messy rumors are most likely made up by these officials.
Of course, the emperor is no exception. If you meet an emperor with vulgar and low-level behavior, he will be in trouble. Empress Zhou of the Southern Tang Dynasty was often summoned into the palace by Emperor Taizu of Song Dynasty, Zhao Kuangyin, and would quarrel with Li Yu as soon as she returned.
Of course, what Zhao Ding didn't know was that not only was it hard to say whether the example he thought of was true or not, but what was even more ridiculous was that hundreds of years later, the person who summoned Concubine Zhou into the palace changed from Emperor Taizu of Song to Emperor Taizong of Song, and there were even special erotic pictures... which proved again and again that the dark psychology of literati was the most difficult to deal with.
Coming back to the present, Zhao Ding sighed about the shallowness of human nature. After eating some porridge, he was about to go back to work. Unexpectedly, the chief guard Lan Gui suddenly arrived in person. He was summoned by the emperor, and asked the four prime ministers to go to the harem to meet the emperor in half an hour. He hurriedly agreed, and then forced himself to act like a prime minister. He stayed in the public room for half an hour before abandoning his official duties with Liu Ji, and went out to meet Zhang Jun and Chen Gui, and left in a hurry.
After the rain, the sky cleared up and most of the roads in the palace were still clean. However, after entering the former imperial garden area of the harem, which is now the fish pond and mulberry forest area, it was inevitably a bit muddy... If it was just the muddy roads, it would be fine. However, several ministers were feeling a little nervous and struggling.
After all, when the emperor heard that the Jin people returned the looted people and abolished Liu Yu as a condition for peace talks, he was not happy but angry, and was furious. His resolute attitude can be said to have made everyone look at him sideways. At the same time, the desire for peace talks among the people and the bureaucracy was surging and difficult to stop for a while.
At such times, as a prime minister, even if there are slight differences in political views, one must unify the pace and maintain the situation. One must not let the government overturn the table, nor let the people below hijack the court policies.
It's difficult everywhere.
"In summer, mosquitoes make their nests in stagnant water puddles. Malaria and other diseases are spread by mosquitoes. Take your men to inspect all parts of the palace. If you see places where drainage is difficult, try to dredge them. If it is difficult to dredge, just fill them up. In any case, don't leave any hidden dangers..."
When the four ministers arrived at the familiar stone pavilion, they saw Prime Minister Lu Haowen and Chief Censor Li Guang sitting in the pavilion, waiting for each other, with Yang Yi Zhong, Liu Yan and Lan Gui standing beside them. Emperor Zhao was sitting in the innermost seat and talking to Feng Yi, so they had to stay for a while.
However, seeing that five prime ministers and one half-prime minister, that is, the six most senior officials in the court, had arrived, Zhao Jiu immediately stopped talking and turned to face them:
"Please sit down, my four lords. I have an idea to share with you."
The four newcomers, including Zhao Ding, became increasingly nervous when they saw Emperor Zhao, who was dressed in casual clothes, turn his head and reveal a pair of red eyes, with the corners of his mouth, which were coated with medicine , turning purple. However, they quickly responded with thanks and then sat down carefully.
"It is a good thing that the princesses have returned, but some things are unavoidable... For example, Princess Yifu and above all had husbands before Jingkang, but some were born and some died; and Princess Shunde and above all had children, but some were abducted and some are still alive." Zhao Jiu tried to open his red eyes and said seriously. "So, I intend to let them go back to their families as much as possible, find their lost husbands and children, and those who have no home will go to Yangzhou temporarily and be handed over to Empress Dowager Yuanyou for resettlement, so that the Empress Dowager can arrange their marriages."
"Your Majesty's words are very appropriate." Lu Haowen responded first, and the other five people also agreed.
Of course!
In fact, no matter how the government arranges them, the prime minister will probably have to "be very careful". After all, these people really don't matter. Although they are the most eye-catching, and Zhao Ding is vaguely aware that they are destined to be gossiped about and humiliated by sluts... But to be cruel, they really mean nothing in the overall situation.
And for Zhao Jiu, this seems to be even more so.
Perhaps he was really tempered. After interacting with these so-called sisters of his in name for the past two days, Zhao Jiu did not have any particularly deep feelings. He did not have any resentment. All his resentment was directed at the Two Saints, especially the Emperor Taishang Daojun. He did not pay much attention to them, because they were really meaningless in the face of the overall anti-Jin situation that he had to worry about. At most, they were just a bonus, and it was just a one-sided bonus. He only had a little sympathy, but this sympathy seemed so light in front of the countless women in the Mesopotamian and Central Plains... Not to mention the estimated tens of millions of women in the Mesopotamian and Central Plains, even the number of women in the Central Plains who were looted and abducted by the Song army's own soldiers was estimated to be in the millions.
In fact, Zhao Jiu even felt a sense of moral guilt because of this cheap sympathy. During the same period, there were more than 100,000 or even millions of women who were affected by the war, or were captured, or their families were destroyed. Those people died or dispersed, but unlike these royal relatives, they were able to return first because they were born into the royal family.
Of course, reason told him that these people were also pitiful people and there was no need to worry too much about them. Zhang Quwei was whipped and then expelled just now because he misjudged the mentality of Emperor Zhao.
"Then the Jin envoy will come back to discuss the peace." Zhao Jiu sighed slightly, but tried his best to answer. "I also know that no matter whether it is war or peace, I must give a clear explanation, otherwise I will not be able to explain to the people of the world, and it will also make it difficult for you."
Everyone knew that the critical moment had arrived and no one dared to delay. Lv Haowen took the lead, and the six of them simply stood up together and waited in the pavilion.
"My attitude is very clear... I would rather die than negotiate peace!" Zhao Jiu sighed again and became serious. "This will not change!"
Zhang Jun and Li Guang seemed to be hesitant to speak, Liu Ji and Chen Gui remained silent, but Zhao Ding and Lu Haowen remained calm.
“But I also know that national affairs involve the lives and deaths of tens of millions of people. If the emperor does whatever he wants without considering the people’s opinions, that won’t work. And I already know what the people’s opinions are like, without you having to tell me…” Zhao Jiu sighed. “For example, I know that the nominal and real bottom line of most bureaucrats and common people is just to maintain the Yellow River and return the two saints. Once the Jin people are willing to hand over Jingdong and send back the captured nobles, it is estimated that half of the officials in the court will agree to peace talks, and the remaining 20% to 30% will not speak, but it is only because I did not speak, they actually want to negotiate peace in their hearts; I also know that more than half of the people in the world are unwilling to pay for the Yellow River North Expedition with their own money and food. There are people who support the Northern Expedition, but they are all in Hebei and Hedong, and they have no say; I also know that many people in the world feel that the Song Dynasty was not that bad before, and being captured by the Jin people was just an accident, so everyone wants to return to the prosperous and prosperous times, rather than follow me to take a new path... I am not a fool or a deaf person, how can I not know this?”
After these words were spoken, all the ministers frowned and remained silent.
In fact, this is the biggest dilemma of this matter… The so-called emperor must take the people’s hearts into consideration, and most of them want to negotiate peace.
The most obvious one is the so-called public opinion in the occupied areas. If the people in the occupied areas of the two rivers can really come out to vote, they will definitely want war, and peace talks will not be possible. Any minister in the southeast or Jingxiang who dares to say the word peace should be careful of being stabbed by someone. But the actual situation is just the opposite. The "public opinion" that can influence the central government's decision now cannot include the opinions of the people in the occupied areas of the two rivers.
They couldn't speak.
Or to be more specific, their words at this time could not have any influence on the central government officials, their actions could not bring much tax to the court, and even when the number of troops in the imperial camp had been fixed and the imperial army had difficulty crossing the river in a short period of time, they could not even provide soldiers and sacrifices for the troops.
It's not that no one from the two rivers escaped, but those who escaped were only a minority compared to the native people south of the Yellow River. If they had fled to the south of the Yangtze River that day, the combined number of refugees from the Central Plains and Hebei would still be somewhat weak, but it would not be as bad as it is now.
"Your Majesty." Li Guang thought for a moment and suggested seriously, "Why not sign a peace treaty for three to five years? Then we can march north again?"
"That's ridiculous." The previous heart-to-heart talk had worked, and Zhao Ding responded directly without Zhao Jiu's reply. "Once peace is negotiated, people's morale will be weakened. And we still want peace now, not to mention that people will want peace in three to five years. By then, I'm afraid everyone in the court will want peace!"
"If someone does this at that time, I will spit in his face!" Li Guang quickly looked at Zhao Ding in a serious tone.
"Li Zhongcheng spit in his own face, but what if he can't save the people's hearts and minds?" Zhang Jun on the side also responded coldly. "Can Li Zhongcheng spit to death tens of millions of people?! In my opinion, if the situation can't be saved, even if Li Zhongcheng hits his head against the Wende Hall to prove his innocence, it will be unforgivable! What's more, once peace is negotiated, not to mention that the people of Henan will seek stability, just how will the people of the two rivers win? Zhongcheng wants tens of millions of people in the two rivers to be willing to be slaves of the Jin people for another three to five years just because of his empty words?"
Li Guang was furious, but he had no words to say. He could only bow to Zhao Jiu and said, "Your Majesty, although I am from the southeast, I have no selfish motives. I am just thinking about the return of the two emperors to the north, and the several counties in the east of Beijing. Originally, it would cost countless money and millions of lives to get them back. Now, it is obvious that I can get them with just one word, but I still refuse directly. How can I explain to the people of the world? Moreover, even if we want to march north, we have no war horses and no money. How can we rush to do it? What about a temporary peace for three years?"
"National hatred, family feuds, and the righteousness of the Spring and Autumn Period cannot be compromised in the slightest." Chen Gui also interjected in a low voice to express his stance.
Liu Ji also nodded.
Li Guang was very anxious for a moment, but then he looked at Lu Haowen... How could he not know that most of the six people these times were the emperor's confidants, and few of them were willing to disobey the emperor? It might also be that Lu Haowen had an outstanding status and was not worried about the position of prime minister, so he might be able to say something fair.
However, Lu Haowen met Li Guang's gaze and asked an unexpected question: "Li Zhongcheng and former Prime Minister Li Boxi are close friends. Do you know what he means?"
Li Guang was backed into a corner, but he could no longer hide his feelings. He simply raised his head and said, "Mr. Li did have correspondence with me. He said long ago that a little peace talk is feasible."
Everyone frowned.
However, Li Guang did not lie... Li Gang and Li Boji, the former war leaders, did support peace talks at this time. Moreover, it was not that Li Gang suddenly became weak in the knees, but that he had always held the attitude and opinion. After all, as early as the beginning of Jianyan, when Li Gang first took office in Nanjing, he clearly put forward his own opinion, that is, to do what one can - "to defend, then to fight, to fight, then to make peace."
He never gave up 'and'.
The reason why we had to insist on "fighting" at that time was because the situation had reached its most powerless point. Once we were unable to fight, it would be tantamount to surrender.
However, his inner thinking of being able to "defend", "fight" and "make peace" has never changed, and it also represents the true thoughts of most "pro-war" non-surrender bureaucrats.
In fact, this was also an important reason why he was easily defeated by Huang Qianshan - Li Gang's "peace" behind his advocacy of war caused a subtle estrangement between him and Zong Ze, who believed in "fighting to the end", and thus they were unable to truly join forces to control the court. This included the fact that Zong Ze did not provide any assistance when Li Gang was dismissed from his position as prime minister, and the two sides had different slogans on how to build the capital, which led to their being defeated by each other.
"Okay, I know that most people want to negotiate peace, and most of them are sincere and well-intentioned." At this moment, it was Emperor Zhao who suddenly interrupted. "And I won't hide it from you. In the past two days in the palace, I have been thinking about it. I feel that since I came to Mingdao Palace, I have been through many life and death situations, but none of them are as helpless as now... I was so helpless that I wanted to abandon Tokyo and take only the front army of the Imperial Camp and a part of the Imperial Camp led by Li Qiong, that is, the Imperial Camp troops who are mostly Hebei survivors, to Bagong Mountain to become bandits and start over. What else can we do? Should we send the Imperial Camp soldiers who are from Hebei refugees to the streets to assassinate? Whoever talks about peace will be killed?"
"Your Excellency's words are too harsh..." Lu Haowen and others responded helplessly.
"Let's not talk about this anymore... I want to ask you, if I am really determined to go to Bagua Mountain, will the six of you follow me?" Zhao Jiu suddenly asked without changing his expression.
Several people thought that the official was going to continue speaking angrily and were going to respond perfunctorily, but before they could open their mouths, they all became alert in their hearts and became serious.
"Prime Minister Lu." Zhao Jiu urged.
"Your Majesty..." Lü Haowen, who was the first to be hit, was stunned for a long time, but could only smile bitterly. "Your Majesty's words were very clear in my house that day. I have wasted half of my life, and the little achievements and fame I have are all gained by following your Majesty in the past four or five years. If your Majesty really wants to become a bandit, I can only become a chief clerk in a mountain stronghold."
"Of course I am willing to follow the emperor!" Zhang Jun expressed his opinion before Zhao Ding.
Zhao Ding looked at Zhang Jun helplessly, and then turned to Emperor Zhao sincerely: "Your Majesty, I have received great kindness from you. In four years, I have risen from a scholar in Kaifeng Prefecture to the prime minister of the capital province. There are thousands of reasons why you would abandon me. How could I abandon you?"
After the three prime ministers had spoken, the two deputy prime ministers, Liu Ji and Chen Gui, also spoke quickly, indicating that they were willing to follow suit.
Even the Chief Censor Li Guang, although angry at the Emperor Zhao's absurd words, still bowed seriously: "Your Majesty, I have absolutely no intention of using the public opinion to go against the Emperor's will. I am just doing my job, and the matter has never reached that level..."
"What if we get there?" Zhao Jiu interrupted the other party without changing his expression.
"And if it really comes to a situation where the country is divided and the pot is broken, I will not follow the emperor to Bagua Mountain. I will only die for the emperor in Tokyo first to repay the emperor's grace for many years!" Li Guang answered with all his strength.
"I believe you." Zhao Jiu nodded, his expression unchanged. "I believe you too. I already know what you mean, please remember what I said today... Now, it's my turn to tell you my decision, which is that the Song Dynasty can negotiate peace, but I will not!"
Several people were obviously relieved, but after a moment, their expressions changed slightly... The reason they were relieved was that the government seemed to have finally given in, and this matter could more or less avoid the fate of being blamed; the reason they changed their expressions slightly was that they were a little worried about the knot left by the government.
But before the ministers could think about it, Zhao Jiu continued, "You go and negotiate with the Jin people, but you must tell them and the civil and military officials and the people of the world that I am unwilling to make peace, but I am forced to be silent because of filial piety and the will of the people... I know what you are thinking, so just pretend that I am trying to cover up my mistake."
"I dare not..." Lu Haowen and others immediately bowed their heads and felt relieved because it seemed that they were really going to have peace talks.
"Then I will negotiate with the Jin people. I will see all the captives from Jingkang, regardless of gender, below the Second Saint..." Zhao Jiu ignored the statements made in the past few days and continued to speak calmly. "I know that people in the world have always been talking about it, saying that I am afraid that the Second Saint will come back to seize the throne, so I deliberately do not welcome the Second Saint... This matter must also be made public so that these people will shut up... I want them all back openly!"
Lu Haowen and the other six people felt more relieved... They didn't expect the emperor to be so magnanimous that even the two saints didn't care anymore.
"Finally, if the two saints and others still promise to return the five counties of the Pseudo-Qi after they cross the river, I will make peace with them with the return of the five counties as the limit." Zhao Jiu continued. "This last point must also be discussed openly and openly! Do you understand?"
Lü Haowen and other ministers including Li Guang thought for half a day and were completely relieved. They all bowed and agreed... Because although the emperor had left some hidden clues, he generally talked about something that followed people's hearts.
However, Li Guang couldn't help himself and said carefully: "Sir, this is a matter of national importance. I'm afraid some small tricks may not be effective."
"Just do it." Zhao Jiu waved his hand, not wanting to explain at all, and instead walked away.
Yang Yizhong, Liu Yan and Lan Gui followed closely behind, and the six people left in the pavilion could only bow their heads.
