Volume 4 Chapter 32 Secret Pavilion
The official's final statement made many people feel so grateful that they put their hands on their foreheads.
How can I not be thankful?
Since the First Emperor came up with the concept of the emperor, one thing that cannot be denied is that the political ecology of the upper class in China can only be built around the imperial power. The emperor theoretically has the right to control and dispose of all things in the world, the final right to interpret all legal principles, and the right to decide all political opinions...
In theory, an emperor had unlimited power.
In fact, this is a kind of imperial society.
It's just that history has repeated itself time and time again, dynasties have come and gone, and China's elites are not fools. It is natural for them to sum up some tacit materialistic theories from historical experience - for example, the emperor is always a living person, and people have joys, sorrows, anger, and happiness, likes and dislikes, and desires.
More importantly, these emperors would have great differences in the way they exercised their power due to their varying qualities.
There was Emperor Yang of Sui and Emperor Taizong of Tang; there was Emperor Hui of Jin and Emperor Shizu of Han; there was Emperor Gong of Zhou and Emperor Taizu of Song...and one fact that everyone has to admit is that the Zhao Song emperor has been passed down for ten generations, and the current emperor is more or less a semi-recognized leader of the revival of the dynasty, and at least he will not be bullied.
Du Chong and Liu Guangshi killed people at will and kept the army under tight control.
And facing such an emperor, to be fair, anyone who hoped for peace, from the bureaucracy to the people, would feel a little nervous... because if things really got out of hand, it might not end well.
But fortunately, the official made an appropriate choice for the sake of the overall situation and the people's hearts.
Of course, the fact that the Song Dynasty could negotiate peace but he did not seems a bit like covering one's ears and stealing the bell.
However, having said that, whether it is an attempt to cover up one's own faults or things may go on in a reversal, this matter concerning the overall situation of the world has finally been resolved.
Just like this, a few days passed in a blink of an eye, April was over and May came, and on this day, in the secret pavilion in the central hall of Chongwenyuan (where the authentic books, calligraphy and paintings, and documents of the Song Dynasty were collected), the prime minister Lu Haowen, the governor of the capital Zhao Ding, and the privy envoy Zhang Jun once again organized a routine meeting. The five prime ministers, six secretaries, six assistant ministers, one chancellor, nine ministers, and five supervisors were all present, but the meeting was not expanded any further.
The reason why it is called routine is that the emperor has not spoken a word or shown up since that day, and he no longer has the behavior of summoning officials to meet by the fish pond as in the past. All the letters sent to the harem basically went through the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Internal Affairs before being sent back directly... In theory, the emperor has read it, but in fact everyone knows that the emperor has not read it at all.
To use Lan Gui's original words, the government has said that before the return of the two emperors, all state affairs must be handled by the prime minister's consensus.
However, although the status of the prime ministers in the Song Dynasty was unquestionable, at such a sensitive moment, even the prime ministers could not act on their own, so they simply held a secret meeting every day to discuss the overall situation to show their impartiality.
It can only be said that Wanyan Xiyin specially robbed the secret pavilion of the Song Dynasty, which made this place a lot more spacious and provided a natural meeting place.
"As I said, since the emperor won't show up, we have to do our best to complete this matter." On the third floor of the secret chamber, the three people with decision-making power, Lu, Zhao, and Zhang, sat in silence as usual, but it was the deputy prime minister of the capital, Liu Ji, who stood up to preside over the meeting. "Let's talk about the most important thing first. How is the progress at the Honglu Temple?"
The Minister of the Honglu Temple, Zhai Ruwen, did not step forward to salute, nor did he move his seat. He just faced the other party and said, "There has been a lot of progress. The Jin people are indeed sincere in negotiating peace. They will return the two emperors, the empress dowager, the princes, and the captives..."
"If there is no prince, where does the prince come from?" Liu Ji interrupted him seriously before he could finish. "Since the ascension of the Yuansheng Emperor to the throne, the sons of the Supreme Dao Emperor and the emperor were just royal family members. Even the one born to the Yuansheng Emperor is just an ordinary royal family member!"
Zhai Ruwen was scolded by Liu Ji in person, but he was not angry. Instead, he said solemnly: "Yes, it is my negligence. The two saints and the royal family and nobles under the two queen dowagers..."
"Wait." Lu Haowen, who had been sitting there in silence, suddenly frowned and spoke. "Why are there two queen dowagers? Shouldn't there be three?"
The people around were slightly startled, but soon fell silent. It was obvious that they already knew what was going on. However, Lu Haowen only participated in the meetings and was not stationed in Chongwenyuan all the time, so he knew some details a little late.
Zhai Ruwen was also slightly startled, but immediately gave a serious explanation: "The Jin envoy Wulinda Zanmo informed us that Empress Dowager Zhu (the empress of Emperor Qinzong of Song) died in Wuguo City two years ago."
Lu Haowen was sad for a moment... Among the two captured saints, he actually didn't have much feelings for Emperor Taishang Daojun, but he was appreciated by Emperor Yuansheng and was easily promoted to Chief Censor and Minister of War. He still had some gratitude between Emperor Yuansheng and his wife as a subject. Of course he was sad to hear that Empress Dowager Zhu had passed away.
Seeing that Lü Haowen stopped talking, Zhai Ruwen was finally able to continue, but he was more careful in his words: "Wulin Dazanmo meant that returning the captives except the two emperors and the other clans was a pre-determined matter, and the Jin Kingdom should have been doing it by now. The reason why the two emperors and the other clans were temporarily suspended was not because the Jin Kingdom was unwilling, but because the Jin people were worried that the emperor did not want the two emperors and the other clans to return to the south, so they deliberately catered to the emperor... Now that the emperor has asked for it, this matter is actually not a big deal, but they must be sent back first before negotiating peace, which is a bit beyond our expectations, so I'm afraid that the messenger will have to travel between Yanjing and Bianjing before he can give a formal reply. As for the matter of the five counties in Jingdong, he of course just declined, saying that we are greedy, but he didn't say it firmly. In my opinion, he should also be waiting for Yanjing's official words."
As Zhai Ruwen briefly introduced the progress of the contact with the Jin envoy, there was silence in the secret room for a while.
There were two reasons for the silence. One was that they did not expect the Jin people to be so straightforward and agree to the unconditional return of the two saints so easily; the other was that some topics were too sensitive for them, the ministers.
To be honest, in order to cater to the selfishness of the officials, they were going to deliberately keep the two saints and the royal family... As a minister, can I discuss such things? But the Jin envoy was unwilling to cover up anything, and said everything nakedly. It would be self-deception to try to avoid it.
"In that case, there should be no problem in welcoming back the two emperors?" Zhao Ding said helplessly, but then he looked at the Minister of Rites Zhu Shengfei. "If the two emperors return to the south, what kind of etiquette should be used to greet them? And how should they be accommodated? Does the Ministry of Rites have any advice?"
"The Ministry of Rites has no comment." Zhu Shengfei said with a dark face and spread his hands. "This is not a precedent. Please give us an explanation, gentlemen."
This was the first time that several men, including Zhao Ding, discovered that Zhu Shengfei was so annoying?!
"You two are both honored as the Supreme Emperor, and there are also the two Queen Mothers Zheng and Wei. These are the four honorable positions..." Zhao Ding continued this topic helplessly, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he felt that Zhu Shengfei really had no chance of making a statement, because no one could make a statement.
Putting aside other things, these four people, plus the Empress Yuanyou of Yangzhou, are theoretically above the emperor, but in reality they are only below him. How should they be accommodated?
Empress Dowager Yuanyou has a palace in Yangzhou, but do you dare to let her escape from the government's surveillance?
But if these two plus the two queen dowagers were allowed to stay in the same city with the emperor, Genyue had been abandoned, fish ponds had been dug in the imperial garden, 30% of the spacious Yeonbok Palace had been allocated to the military academy, and the capital and the Privy Council had moved into the palace, how many palaces would be left? Couldn't they really just give them a side palace?
Moreover, the government is so frugal, so what regulations should be used to accommodate these four people?
Of course, the most crucial thing is that no matter whether it is a side hall or a Taoist temple, who can make the decision without the approval of Emperor Zhao by the fish pond?
"How about Yanfu Palace?" Zhao Ding, who had been thinking for half a day, had no choice but to ask around. "Most of Yanfu Palace is unused. Clean it up first, and then use Yanfu Palace as a contingency plan to welcome the emperor. When the two emperors return, the emperor will have to come out eventually. If the emperor has other solutions, we can ask him then."
The other prime ministers looked at each other, and could only nod their heads together, then looked at Zhu Shengfei together.
Zhu Shengfei sighed when he heard this, and could only say: "Whatever the husbands say is what it is."
Zhao Ding and others found this person more and more annoying!
“If the Yeonbok Palace is used to house the two emperors and the two empresses dowagers…should the martial arts be moved out?” At this moment, Zhang Jie, the judge of the Shaofu Supervisor, suddenly spoke.
However, after these words were spoken, they only attracted angry glares from the ministers. Then, the Minister of Justice Wang Shu sneered, "It is precisely because the martial arts are there that the Yanfu Palace can use them. How can they take them back?"
Zhang Jie suddenly realized what was going on, but his face turned red from holding it in.
The ministers glared at Wang Shu again, but Wang Shu remained arrogant and disdainful.
"Does the Honglu Temple have anything else to say ?" After Liu Ji glared at Zhai Ruwen, he quickly asked.
Zhai Ruwen hesitated to speak, but still spoke carefully: "There is a clan member..."
Everyone frowned, thinking that one of the emperor's sons was confirmed dead. Liu Ji was even more helpless and urged: "Who?"
"Prince Xin." Zhai Ruwen looked at him carefully. "It is said that Prince Xin is still alive in Wuguo City."
All the senior officials in the secret chamber were puzzled, but then they all came to their senses, and then they all became solemn.
"This is a negotiation tactic to make the imperial court give up the Taihang righteous army." Zhao Ding immediately looked serious. "Without seeing Prince Xin who returned with the two saints, this statement cannot be trusted and cannot be spread."
Everyone nodded.
"Is there anything else?" Liu Ji asked helplessly.
"No more." Zhai Ruowen quickly shook his head.
"Okay, let's just arrange the news from the Honglu Temple today, and wait for more news..." Seeing this, Liu Ji concluded helplessly. "Zhai Keqing (another name for the Honglu Temple Minister) continues to talk with Wulinda Zanmo. The emperor's conditions cannot be changed at all."
Zhai Ruwen nodded his head again.
"Do you have any other questions?" After Liu Ji finished giving his instructions, he turned to the others again.
"Apart from the peace talks, what else can we do?" Liu Dazhong, the Minister of Personnel, said with emotion, but he bowed to the people above him. "My dear ministers, Hu Quan, are you really not going to do anything about it? He said in the official newspaper that we are 'evil villains', saying that we are trying to 'privately consolidate our positions as prime minister, minister of most ministries, and vice minister', and that we are leading His Majesty, who has the 'qualities of Yao and Shun', to Shi Jin (Shi Jingtang's Later Jin)'. He almost said that all of us should be beheaded... What on earth is this?"
After Liu Dazhong finished speaking, several prime ministers and the other dozen or so ministers in the secret cabinet all sighed.
To be honest, among the bureaucrats, there are many who agree with peace talks, and there are also many who cooperate silently. However, it cannot be ignored that there are also many people who strongly oppose peace talks.
Previously, Emperor Zhao had been strongly in favor of war, and the people below who advocated peace talks were overwhelming, so it seemed that the people in favor of war could not resist for a while. However, once the emperor gave up on this matter, the court really began to negotiate peace, and these pro-war factions became the opposition, and the public sentiment also seemed overwhelming.
In the past few days, the ministers had to conceal their original positions and try their best to maintain the overall situation because of their connecting roles. However, under the prime minister, the three biggest pro-war representatives have emerged. The Minister of Justice in the Secret Cabinet, Wang Shu, is the biggest pro-war person, and he is the representative of the upper bureaucracy; there are also many among the middle and lower-level officials, especially the young Hu Quan, who is the most active in the palace bulletin, and yesterday he even shouted the slogan "Those who negotiate peace will be beheaded"; as for the people, an unexpected pro-war person has also appeared, and he is Hu Yin's father, Hu Anguo.
The reasoning of this great scholar is somewhat similar to that of Emperor Zhao - once peace is negotiated, the momentum of the Jianyan Restoration will be cut off and it will be difficult to continue again, and even if they want to fight again in the future, they may not be able to do so.
Faced with this situation , as an important official in the court, he still had to do the same as before - try his best to maintain the overall situation and not let anyone overturn the table.
"We can't deal with Hu Quan." After thinking for a long time, Zhao Ding said with a stiff upper lip. "If we deal with Hu Quan now, we will be seen as partial to our own interests... You must know that the purpose of negotiating peace now is just to welcome back the two saints, take over Jingdong, and cultivate ourselves a little, not to really abandon the two rivers and live in peace from now on!"
Liu Dazhong kept shaking his head.
At this point, Zhao Ding seemed to have remembered something and looked at Zhai Ruwen again: "Guest Zhai, don't even mention the Brotherly Country. If we establish this Brotherly Country now, how can we fight again in the future?"
Zhai Ruwen bowed his head and couldn't help but sigh.
At this time, the Prime Minister Zhang Jun, who had been silent, also sighed: "You all sigh one by one, how can you be embarrassed in the Privy Council? I don't know how I should respond if Yue Pengju writes to question me from the front line."
Liu Dazhong said, "Yue Fei can ask the emperor in a secret letter! Why should we worry about it?!"
"How can you be so self-righteous in matters of military and national importance?" As soon as the Minister of Personnel Liu Dazhong finished speaking, his subordinate, the Vice Minister of Personnel Lü Zhi, sneered at him. "It's only been a few years since we've lived in peace? Do you regard military affairs as nothing? Most of the front troops of Yue Pengju's imperial camp are refugees from Hebei. Li Qiong and the Eight Character Army he is currently leading around Tokyo City are also refugees from Hebei. If a mutiny breaks out, who will be held responsible?! The emperor entrusted this matter to you in the secret cabinet, and you are just sighing and complaining every day?"
As soon as these words were spoken, Liu Dazhong and others naturally became furious, and Zhao Ding was also upset, because this kind of behavior, which had no solution to the problem but only confrontation and ridicule, was the most hated behavior by the prime ministers who were pursuing stability at the moment.
"We must take this into consideration." But even though he hated it, Zhao Ding had no choice but to speak seriously before Liu Dazhong lost his temper. "And we must respond quickly... Minister Hu, what do you have to say?"
Under Lü Zhi's complicated gaze, the Minister of War General Hu Shi stepped out in a deep voice and said sternly, "My fellow ministers and colleagues, I think we can send a senior official to stay in Li Qiong's army to appease him and tell him that the court has no intention of abandoning the two rivers... As for Yue Fei, it is better to take advantage of him and temporarily cut off the news and not tell him about the peace talks... If the emperor wants to talk to him, he will naturally tell him, and we should not interfere here."
"Let's do it!" Zhao Ding made a serious decision. "Who will go to Li Qiong's army?"
General Hu bowed his hands and said, "It is my duty."
Zhao Ding nodded and was about to agree, but at this moment, suddenly, there was a loud commotion outside the window of the secret chamber, as if some people suddenly gathered and shouted. Like everyone else, the prime minister of the current province was also startled.
The Minister of Revenue Lin Qi and the Grand Secretary Zhao Shiqi who was just pretending to be asleep were the closest to the window and instinctively leaned over to look, but unexpectedly, a boot came at them from two floors away, immediately hitting Uncle Zhao's nose and making it bleed. The boot then bounced onto Minister Lin's face, and the two of them squatted down and covered their faces in pain.
At this moment, all the important officials on the third floor of the Secret Chamber were naturally eclipsed.
At this time, the noise became louder and louder, and many words could not be concealed across two floors. The people upstairs knew what happened below before they could rescue the two people.
Soon, the officer on duty hurried upstairs and reported clearly what had happened downstairs - a group of middle and low-level officials from the provincial governments, the Privy Council, the Six Ministries, the Nine Temples, and the Five Institutions seemed to have made an agreement in advance. Suddenly, they rushed out during the secret cabinet meeting. There were dozens of them, and they demanded to meet with the important officials in the secret cabinet and ask them some questions in person!
Everyone felt something was not right when they heard this, and they were inevitably a little panicked for a moment, but the matter was not over yet. Soon, the officer on duty came in a panic to report that more than a hundred students from the Imperial University had gathered at the Xuande Building on donkey carts from the Imperial Road, and they wanted to submit a public petition.
At this moment, everyone in the secret chamber was in an uproar... After all, even the youngest among them had experienced the Jingkang period, so how could they not know that this was a re-enactment of the Jingkang scene? !
At that time, the Jin people were conquering cities and territories, the court was arguing over war and peace, the ministers were arguing endlessly, and a state of division was formed. Scholars and students also wrote public letters. That kind of political chaos directly led to the replacement of 26 prime ministers in just over a year of Yuan Sheng's reign, and the number of other six ministers, nine officials and five supervisors was countless.
"Is it the emperor?" Hearing the noises getting louder downstairs, the Imperial Censor Li Guang supported the Minister of Revenue Lin Qi, who was still covering his face, but couldn't help but speak in frustration. "Retreat to advance? Why does the emperor have to use such a trick?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the secret chamber fell silent again.
"Not an official!"
"This is not an official gesture!"
"It won't be the government."
After a moment, Lu Haowen, Zhao Ding and Zhang Jun almost all denied it.
But the difference between the three was that after Lu Haowen finished speaking, he stopped talking and his expression showed sadness again; Zhang Jun kept shaking his head and seemed to be thinking about something; but Zhao Ding continued to grit his teeth and give orders, asking Ban Zhi to go down and ask the lower level to choose a representative to go upstairs and speak, and also asked Chen Gongfu, the chief academic officer of the Imperial College who had been perfunctorily attending the secret cabinet meeting, to quickly leave the Xuande Building and take over the books submitted by the students.
After a few words and instructions, the Secret Chamber finally restored a lot of order. And when the representatives of middle and low-level officials went upstairs after the chaos, the important officials in the Secret Chamber were already on high alert.
"Chen Kangbo, why is it you?"
Zhao Ding was sitting in the middle of the table, and when he saw that the official representative who came up was actually Zuo Langzhong, one of his right-hand men in the capital, he was a little confused for a moment. "You are usually calm, serious and smart in the capital, and you never speak without thinking. Why are you involved in this matter?"
"So that you know, sir, I don't say anything carelessly in the past, but I need to speak with certainty at this moment to win people's trust." Chen Kangbo, who was also in his thirties, the same age as Zhang Jun, but entered the officialdom a few years later, bowed his hands and responded without any panic. "Sir Zhao, I represent the capital province, the Privy Council, the six ministries, nine temples, and five bureaus, a total of 73 officials. I have some 'concerns' to tell you, and I also have 'doubts' to ask you... May I speak?"
Zhao Ding sighed, but before the angry officials could speak, he nodded and said, "Tell me."
"Seventy-three of us, plus one hundred and twenty-five students, are all against peace talks." Chen Kangbo started by stating the purpose, and then went on to elaborate. "First, we are concerned about the story of Shi Jin (Shi Jingtang's Later Jin)..."
"No." Before Zhao Ding could say anything, Minister of Rites Zhu Shengfei stood up and answered like a cat whose tail was stepped on. "The country will not have any etiquette with the Jin people. Neither of our brother countries will allow it... Doctor Chen, you are not the only ones who know the 'story'. We know it too."
Chen Kangbo nodded slightly to Zhu Shengfei, then turned his head and continued: "The second is that the court is worried that they will abandon the people of Lianghe; the third is that the court is worried that they will forget the shame of Jingkang... These are the three concerns."
"No." Zhao Ding sighed and quickly answered in a serious tone. "Don't forget, I am from Hedong... The court is negotiating peace this time just to welcome back the two saints, take back Jingdong, and recuperate for a while. There is no intention to continue the peace talks. After recuperating for three to five years, the military resources will be sufficient, and the Northern Expedition will definitely be launched."
"Once these two concerns are gone, two new concerns arise." Chen Kangbo listened carefully, calmly, and continued to speak with his hands clasped. "Sir, the Jingkang incident, the two emperors were hunted in the north, which is unprecedented in history. The shame of a great country can only be washed away by war. Therefore, even if we want to bring back the two emperors, we should do so with war. If we bring them back with peace talks, aren't you afraid of being ridiculed?"
Zhao Ding paused, but Zhang Jun on the side took over the conversation: "Doctor Chen is worrying too much. In fact, the two saints can return this time because of the victory of the emperor at Yaoshan. It can be regarded as welcoming them back with swords... The Jin people's initiative to negotiate peace is a clear proof. Who dares to laugh?"
Chen Kangbo nodded, but continued; "In this case, why not continue to respond with swords and weapons? You must know that the last concern of this subordinate and others is that a sudden peace agreement will destroy the morale of the people... Today, if we covet the benefits of Jingdong and the two saints, how can we explain to the righteous army and the people of the two rivers once we negotiate peace? And after a few years, the people will be at ease and the army will lose morale. What if the Northern Expedition cannot be accomplished? Who will be responsible? If..."
"I will take responsibility!" Hearing this, several ministers were in doubt. The Censor-in-Chief Li Guang, who was increasingly unable to listen, suddenly shouted at the people present. "You can tell the world that if we cannot launch an expedition to the north in three to five years, I will crash into the ground and die in front of the Xuande Tower to restore the country's blood!"
"But if Li Zhongcheng dies, we still can't continue the country's vitality, we still can't launch the Northern Expedition, or if the Northern Expedition fails... then what should we do?" Chen Kangbo didn't care at all that the other party was the Censor Zhongcheng who had the power of supervision.
"Do you want me to die right now to prove my innocence?" Li Guang recalled the ridicule he received in front of the emperor that day, and was completely furious. "After so much chaos, doesn't the country need to recover? The people of Lianghe are people, but the lives of the people of Jingdong are not lives? Only you young people are loyal to the emperor and love the country, and we are the fools and selfish thieves?!"
Li Guang's words immediately attracted many important officials to sigh with emotion... There were still many people who advocated peace, and most of them were angry with Li Guang. Even a few ministers and important officials who advocated war actually believed in Li Guang's personal morality, and then sighed with emotion.
"I never said that." Chen Kangbo continued to bow without any haste. "I am here to speak for many people, and there is no need for Li Zhongcheng to shoulder such a big responsibility alone."
"That's right." Zhang Jun, who was somewhat sensitive to the word "young", also coughed dryly, but urged Chen Kangbo. "Doctor Chen, no matter what you said about the concerns of the people downstairs, we already know it. If you still have any 'doubts', continue to talk."
"Yes." Chen Kangbo bowed slightly to the prime minister who was the same age as him, and then continued calmly. "The so-called doubts are actually only two... First, if we negotiate peace in this way, I don't know how to appease the several places in the imperial camp where there are many refugees from Hebei. If we can't handle it properly and there is a mutiny, what should we do?"
"We have already discussed this matter and were just about to send Minister Hu of the Ministry of War to meet with Deputy Commander Li." Chen Gui finally interrupted. "The Privy Council is also preparing to make some arrangements for defense."
Chen Kangbo nodded, and finally showed a hint of hesitation, but still spoke seriously: "The last question... May I ask all the ministers, ministers, assistant ministers, and chancellors, how is the emperor?"
The whole room was in complete silence.
After a long while, Zhao Ding finally sighed: "What do you think of us?"
"We know it's absurd, but this time the students and colleagues want to see the emperor's face in person. At the very least, we want to see the memorials personally approved by the emperor." Chen Kangbo said proudly.
"What if they saw him? It will only embarrass the emperor again." Zhao Ding said earnestly. "Doctor Chen, do you really think that we can isolate the inside and the outside? Or do you really think that the people who advocate peace before the emperor have fewer people than you? Even in this secret cabinet, among the prime ministers and ministers, there are also people who advocate war. It's just that everyone can focus on the overall situation and perform their duties!"
"We actually understand what Prime Minister Zhao said." Chen Kangbo remained neither humble nor arrogant, just raised his voice. "But our action today is just to let the emperor know that there are still some young and ignorant people in this world who don't know the overall situation and are willing to follow the emperor to fight the Jin people to the end out of recklessness and blood... Not all civil officials are so thoughtful and cautious, and only think about the old rules of prosperity and wealth."
In the secret chamber, Lü Haowen, Zhao Ding, Zhang Jun, Liu Ji, Chen Gui, Li Guang, Liu Dazhong, Wang Shu, Zhu Shengfei, Hu Shijiang, Lin Qi, Liang Yangzu, Lü Zhi, Zhai Ruwen... and many more, even the chief minister Zhao Shiqi, whose nose was bleeding, all stared at this man, but in silence, with different expressions.
Some sighed, some laughed, some were angry, some were sad, but more people just watched seriously.
After a long time, Zhao Ding finally calmed down and nodded slowly: "I understand. I will ask Officer Lan to come over. Doctor... wait a moment!"
