After seeing Yelu Dashi off, Zhao Jiu returned to Xingqing Prefecture. After dealing with some official documents, he led the imperial guards across the river to Lingzhou. He stayed there for two days, but then chose to go south along the Lingzhou River through Weizhou and across the vast sea to reach Huanzhou.
From here, he went south along the Jing River, passing through Huanzhou, Qingzhou, Ningzhou, Banzhou, Yaozhou and other places in turn, staying for a day or two at the shortest, and three or four days at the longest, to inspect the autumn harvest, check the government treasury, or go deep into the towns and villages. Adding the time of the journey itself, it was not until early August that he entered Jingzhao.
By the time they arrived in Jingzhao, the results of the northwest chaos had already spread throughout the world, and even the details of the Jinhepo Alliance were known to the world.
And just as Zhao Jiu had thought, this time, the Song Dynasty's first priority was to attack the enemy's plans, and the second was to attack its diplomacy. Whether it was using clever tactics to defeat the century-old enemy Western Xia in one day; or taking advantage of the Jurchens' strategic contraction to launch a large-scale sweep through the northwest; or forming an alliance with foreign nations as their vassal, all of them were unprecedented events, and they really touched the excitement of everyone in the Song Dynasty.
There was no way. Since the Jingkang period, the entire Song Dynasty had been full of bad news . Even the Battle of Yaoshan was a defensive battle. Although the real wise people knew that this result was due to the strategic contraction of the Jurchens themselves, it still seemed like a dream.
After all, even those who understand have to admit that the Zhao Song government's move of taking advantage of the situation is really powerful... People all over the world still thought that the Jurchens were beaten and retreated! What's more, winning in the court, winning in the battle of strategy and diplomacy, using the general situation and strategy to avoid fighting and gain so much territory and results is itself a thing that is extremely in line with their values.
Relatively speaking, they were more regretful about the haste of the meeting with Jinhebo and the fact that they could not participate in this grand event.
Therefore, after Emperor Zhao set out from Xingqing Prefecture, he received a constant stream of memorials and letters of congratulation along the way. When he arrived in Chang'an, he became even more aware of the drastic political, military, and even cultural and economic reactions brought about by this major march.
For example, after Zhao Jiu arrived in Chang'an, he discovered that the Tibetan tribes had already sent a large number of envoys to wait here, and many envoys from all over the Western Regions had also gathered here... According to Yuwen Xuzhong's report, almost all the Qinghai tribes north of the Dajinchuan in Tibet had arrived this time. After losing the protection of Western Xia and the Western Regions becoming the territory of the Song Dynasty's allies, these tribes completely lost the basis for their independent survival and had no choice but to surrender.
On the other hand, in the Western Regions, considering the time and distance, there are probably too many caravans taking the opportunity to disguise themselves as envoys to defraud money... This is also a traditional skill of the city-states in the Western Regions.
In this regard, Zhao Jiu would not be a sucker. Of course, he would speak nicely to the Tibetans who came. He would give official titles to those who deserve it, incorporate them into the system as needed, and give them commercial treatment as needed, but he would not give them any extra money or food.
As for the "envoys" from the Western Regions, Zhao Jiu only asked Yuwen Xuzhong to meet with them and proposed a plan to set up an independent, low-tax large market in Lanzhou for east-west transportation, and invited these experts to participate in the discussion.
Of course, the affairs of Tubo and the Western Regions are just minor details, and the violent internal reactions are the real crux of the matter.
First there was the administrative division plan... In Tokyo, I don't know who came up with it, but they directly proposed a plan to integrate the six routes in Kansai.
According to this plan, the entire six routes of Guanxi, including several states outside Hedong that have not yet been included in the administrative coordination, will be unified into three routes.
It includes Chang'an and northern Shaanxi to its north, including part of the east side of Hengshan, all the way to the three states outside the Yellow River and the northernmost Dongsheng state, all of which were unified as Shaanxi Road.
After removing some prefectures and counties in Hengshan, Ningxia Road will gain Huaide Army, Huizhou, Xi'an Prefecture, Zhenrong Army and other places in the south.
As for the remaining part, it is to take Qinfeng Road as the core to unify the control of the northwest region, including Lanzhou, the important hub of the northwest, to form a new large Qinfeng Road.
This arrangement certainly makes sense. For example, in the Shaanxi Road, there is Chang'an, the relationship hub, in the south, with envoys and prime ministers stationed there, but the north is mostly war zones. Han Shizhong and his Imperial Camp Left Army, as well as the Imperial Camp Rear Army led by Wu Jie, are obviously going to be deployed and dealt with here. This will facilitate the unified dispatch of logistics and command of responses to the military confrontation with the Jurchens.
There are also theories about the layout of Ningxia Road and Qinfeng Road. It is designed to divide the core area of ​​the Dangxiang people, and also to incorporate some traditional Han-occupied areas into Ningxia Road to facilitate sinicization.
Zhao Jiu approved of this plan in principle, but suggested a slower pace. This was because people in various places had just emerged from military operations and were unstable, while the autumn harvest was in progress or had not yet been completed in some areas.
In a sense, this method objectively reduced the taxes in these places for half a year and provided convenience to some generals in the military occupied areas.
At the same time, Zhao Jiu himself was not idle either.
You have to know that there is already an envoy named Yuwen Xu Zhong here. According to some unwritten rules since Jianyan, the emperor and the prime ministers can basically exercise the highest power legitimately when they get together... Especially for sensitive personnel issues, it is far better to decide them here than to return to Tokyo.
Specifically, Wang Yan, the governor of Qinfeng Road, was commended and given extra rewards for his contributions in logistics coordination. He was also recalled to the Imperial Camp and appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Camp, the chief secretary of the Privy Council, and the military advisor of the Privy Council.
Hu Yin's post as the Five-Route Transport Commissioner was abolished and changed to the Minister of Works, but he would be transferred again after the Shaanxi Route reform was successfully completed.
The Minister of Works Liang Yangzu was transferred to the position of Deputy Prime Minister of the Capital Province, and the Capital Province and the Ministry of Rites were asked to discuss his various merits since the Jing Kang period, and prepare to confer a fine title on him... This meant giving him an honorary retirement as a prime minister. Considering Liang Yangzu's own political stance and consistent position, this was probably what he wanted.
As for Wang Yuan, Zhao Jiu took into consideration his hard work and promoted him to the position of deputy envoy of the Privy Council, allowing him to retire as a vice-state-level leader.
In addition, Zhao Kai, the transport judge of the nine routes in Shaanxi and Bashu, was transferred to the governor of Qinfeng Route due to his merits. From a local transport judge during the Jingkang Rebellion, he officially entered the highest level of the imperial bureaucracy after several years of hard work.
The transfer of Hu Yin and Zhao Kai also meant the abolition of the nine-route transfer system and the five-route transfer system used exclusively during the Guanxi War.
At the same time, Lizhou Road General Liu Ziwu was transferred to the Minister of War, Chengdu Road General Lin Jingmo was transferred to the Minister of Revenue, Jiangxi Road General Liu Hongdao was transferred to the Vice Minister of War and Judge of the Capital Water Conservancy Bureau, and Hubei General Ma Shen was transferred to the Minister of Justice.
The Minister of War Hu Shijiang was transferred to be the General Manager of Shaanxi Road, the Minister of Revenue Lin Qi was sent to be the General Manager of Lizhou Road, the Minister of Punishment Wang Shu was sent to be the General Manager of Chengdu Road, and the Vice Minister of Personnel Lü Zhi was sent to be the General Manager of Jiangxi Road.
As for the other vacancies, they were also filled in droves.
It can only be said that this series of personnel changes were enough to shock the court. At first glance, one would have thought that Emperor Zhao, who always paid attention to the stability of the court, was going to cause trouble.
But in fact, if you look closely, you will understand that it is nothing more than taking advantage of the opportunity of Northwest integration and Liang Yangzu's retirement to exchange internal and external officials who had previously performed well or outstandingly.
This kind of exchange, let alone being compared with the White Horse Incident in Shaoxing, seems to be even weaker than the round of adjustments after Yaoshan, because at that time the adjustments were made directly at the prime minister level, while this time, in order to maintain the consistency of the court policies and in response to the prime ministers' outstanding performance in governing in the previous few years, the four prime ministers in the court and the two envoys of Chang'an and the southeast did not move at all.
However, the same action, from the perspective of high-level officials, certainly showed that Emperor Zhao had no intention of taking drastic measures, but in the eyes of other people, it still resulted in some kind of misjudgment from a certain perspective.
Just when Emperor Zhao was making large-scale personnel adjustments in Chang'an, suddenly, an official named Liang Jiaying, who had made great efforts and was transferred to be the prefect of Huangzhou, had a military career, had served as a Jinshi, and had also traveled to the Western Regions with Hu Hongxiu, appeared in the book, suggesting that Emperor Zhao should not return to Tokyo, but stay in Chang'an and not move away!
There are certainly sufficient reasons. After pacifying Western Xia and sweeping the northwest, the entire Guanxi became completely stable. In addition, the return of the Xingling grain-producing area and the opening up of the Western Regions and Hetao trade routes will greatly stimulate the revival of Chang'an. There is no need to question the conventional sayings such as the terrain of Guanzhong, as it has been tested for thousands of years.
In addition, this memorial also mentioned a point of view, that is, from Yaoshan to the current chaos in the northwest, it has confirmed the correctness of the common views of the commander Yue Pengju and the Minister of Personnel Lu Zhi.
To annihilate the Jurchens, we must have a commanding position, sweep across Guanxi, then go out to Hedong, occupy Taihang, and from a high vantage point, we can completely take over Hebei and advance to Yanyun.
In this case, it would be better for the government to stay in Guanzhong and accumulate strength to move out of Hedong.
Although Liang Jiaying was a rising star, he himself was totally insignificant. However, the memorial he wrote today was truly earth-shattering, completely shaking Chang'an, Tokyo, and even the whole world.
Even Zhao Jiu became doubtful for a moment.
Soon after, after waking up, local officials in Guanxi wrote letters to express their agreement. Soon after, memorials from the city of Tokyo also came in like snowflakes... But what's interesting is that not all people in Tokyo are opposed. Zhang Jun, the prime minister who was based in Bashu and was said to be almost mad with regret for not following Emperor Zhao to participate in the alliance, took the lead and actually expressed his agreement!
Several senior officials who were about to be transferred to Guanxi immediately changed their minds and agreed to move the capital together with the Minister of Personnel, Lu Zhi.
Even several generals on the front line, including Han Shizhong, Wu Jie, Qu Duan and Wang De, wrote quickly to the emperor, suggesting that he stay... Yue Fei, who was still in Lanzhou and was in charge of wiping out the former Xishou Baotai Army of the Western Xia, also wrote cautiously to express a certain degree of agreement.
However, the main bureaucrats at all levels in Tokyo, led by the governors of the metropolitan areas, expressed their opposition.
It seemed that the situation of complete division due to the choice of the temporary capital in the early years of Jianyan was about to occur again.
However, after a little hesitation, Zhao Jiu gave up the idea according to the advice of Zhao Ding, the Prime Minister of the Capital Province, and Yuwen Xuzhong, the envoy to Chang'an. As he said before, the country needs a long-term stable situation, and policies need to be guaranteed by a continuous political situation. Moving the capital brings too much uncertainty.
As for the issue of launching a counterattack from Hedong in the future, in fact, the distance between Chang'an and Tokyo is not so exaggerated. At most, he, the official, can come to Chang'an when the time comes.
Since he had made up his mind, Zhao Jiu gave up his original plan to wait for Minister Kobayashi and others. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, he went directly east with Wang Yan, who had arrived earlier, and the imperial guards... On the way, he only paused for a while when passing through Shanzhou, to discuss the possible future Hedong strategy with Li Yanxian in person, and asked Wang Yan to cross the river to meet Ma Kuo and go south again. Then he set off again, passed Luoyang, offered sacrifices to Wang Boyan, and finally returned to Tokyo City, which he had been away from for a long time, at the end of August.
When he returned to Tokyo, seeing the great victory and the power of the Western Xia's demise, naturally all the ministers went out of the city thirty miles to welcome him. Emperor Zhao took advantage of the situation to climb up Yuetai and led all the ministers to offer sacrifices to the nameless tablet. Then he returned to the city and saw his two concubines, each holding a son...that is, Zhao Yuanzuo and Zhao Dezuo...two ugly babies...who came to welcome him.
This is bound to be another thing worth talking about, and there will definitely be a lot of trouble in the future. Just meeting him once gave Emperor Zhao a headache... This is of course, raising a son is a troublesome thing for everyone, right?
Even if Emperor Zhao's family had plenty of real estate, he couldn't escape.
What's more, for Emperor Zhao at this time, these two sons have greater political significance and are inevitably boring compared to his daughters.
So, Emperor Zhao simply picked up his most beloved little princess Yiyou and went straight into the palace, bypassing his two sons.
After returning to the palace, the next few days were filled with a lot of things to do and people coming and going.
Not to mention other things, such as the mutual transfer of the six ministers and the governors of various places, as well as the administrative division integration of the northwest, all involve a huge amount of personnel matters... The people at the top are just the people at the top, and the most terrifying thing is the appointment, dismissal and transfer of a large number of middle-level officials. In addition, there is also the issue of promotion and reward for the soldiers of the imperial camps who have made great contributions this time.
Under such circumstances, Emperor Zhao did not even go to see off Zheng Zhichang, an international friend who had made great contributions this time.
However, during this period, in early September, something suddenly happened, or the arrival of a person, which unreasonably attracted the attention of the entire imperial center... The extremely serious personnel issues in the court and political situation were temporarily obscured with the arrival of this person.
The man's name is Zhe Keqiu.
In fact, Zhe Keqiu did not come alone. He brought many descendants of the Zhe family, as well as the Xixia royal family general Weiming Yunge, Xixia Crown Prince Li Renxiao, and Yue King Li Renyou... these were all alive... In addition, there was also the head of Xixia King Li Qianshun.
This is probably the reason why he delayed going to the capital to meet the emperor until now.
In fact, Zhe Keqiu did perform outstandingly this time. First, he turned the tide at a perfect time, which almost enabled the Song Dynasty to seize the states outside the Yellow River without bloodshed. He also played a very important role in a series of military operations, such as driving out Wanyan Huo Nu, controlling the Khitan tribes outside the Yellow River, and intimidating Hengshan.
It can be said that Emperor Zhao's advance into Hetao would not have been so easy if Zhe had not actually taken control of the situation during the early stages of the attack and defense of Hengshan.
Combined with Li Qianshun's head and his two sons, his military achievements are beyond doubt.
At the same time, there seems to be no need to discuss the loyalty of many members of the Zhe family who accompanied the emperor. Apart from Zhe Keqiu, there were actually a large number of Zhe family members who were abducted with the two emperors during the Jing Kang period. During the Jian Yan period, they would rather suffer outside the Great Wall than return to Fuzhou after its surrender. They were not sent back home until the two emperors returned south after the Shaoxing Incident.
This can be confirmed by many captives.
There is also Zhe Yanzhi, who has a very high status in the Zhe family. He is already over 50 years old this year. Regardless of the fact that all his children are in the prefectures and counties, he has experienced ups and downs in the past few years. He has been demoted and re-employed without saying a word, and has always been sincere in his work. This time he was transferred from Bashu, and was given the title of Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and the Inspector of Military Equipment, which can be regarded as a promotion to an important official at the level of the Secret Cabinet.
From these reasons, or from these perspectives, even if no one says some words, one can feel some subtle atmosphere... To put it bluntly, many people tend to believe that the court can pardon the Zhe family, especially since the contribution of Li Qianshun and his son this time is indeed a huge step forward.
However, Zhe Keqiu publicly surrendered to the Jurchens during the Jingkang-Jianyan War, while Emperor Zhao issued a no-pardon order before he surrendered.
Of course, the situation is reversed. Now that the court has taken over the entire northwest and its century-old enemy, Western Xia, is gone, no one can deny its trend of revival.
In this case, should we still stick to the previous strict measures?
It would be most appropriate to relax a bit and send a signal to many people in the north, right?
But after thinking about it, these are just fantasies of the people below. After this great march to the northwest, the demise of Western Xia and the Jinhepo Alliance, Emperor Zhao's authority is growing day by day. Everything still depends on the emperor's decision.
Therefore, Zhe Keqiu entered the capital on the same day, and the next day the capital province and the Privy Council jointly submitted a memorial, requesting a decision from the emperor... This could also be considered a test, because letting Zhe Keqiu personally present Li Qianshun's head and two children would be a form of assistance.
The first result of the test made people feel a little relieved. Emperor Zhao promised to summon him to Shiting in the harem the next morning.
After receiving the order, early the next morning, Zhe Keqiu and several of the accompanying Zhe family members, dressed in white and took off their hats, accompanied by Zhe Yanzhi, holding the box containing Li Qianshun's head, entered the palace from Donghua Gate, went to the harem, and presented themselves before the emperor together with Weiming Yunge and the Li brothers.
"Is this Li Qianshun's head?"
In the nameless stone pavilion beside the fish pond, Zhao Jiu, whose stone table was full of documents, put down the files in his hands when he saw the visitor. Then he presented the head box of Lieutenant General Yang Yi and Li Qianshun...These days, according to the rules, every official who came to Beijing and took up a post in the local area had to be personally checked and received by him as long as they reached a certain level, which was troublesome.
"Yes!" The leader, Zhe Keqiu, bowed to the ground as soon as he came in, not daring to look up. He was about to answer, but was unexpectedly beaten to the punch by the captive Wei Ming Yun Ge. "So that the emperor of the Song Dynasty knows that the head of the king was cut off by a foreign minister himself, and there is no falsehood. Your Majesty, please open it and check it."
In front of the box with a strong stench, Zhao Jiu looked up at Weiming Yunge, and then looked at the two frightened children beside Weiming Yunge. Having just had two sons, he couldn't help but frown: "There's no need to check. How can you check his father's head in front of the children? Take it away! Ren Baozhong will do it, find a proper place to bury it, don't be too disrespectful, but don't let people know that it is the head of the Xixia emperor!"
Ren Baozhong, a close minister who was attending at the side, hurried forward, said that the emperor was merciful, then picked up the head box and turned around and left.
Brother Weiming Yun quickly kowtowed to express his gratitude, but he finally began to cry uncontrollably.
After the box was gone, Zhao Jiu took a few deep breaths and then asked in a low voice, "Brother Weimingyun, where did you escape to at that time?"
"They fled to Dijinze." Brother Yun bowed his head in tears. "The place where our ancestors started..."
Zhao Jiu was really confused this time. Although he had learned a lot of common sense about Xixia before the expedition, most of it was about the current geographical situation of Xixia and he still didn't know much about its past history.
It was Lü Benzhong who was nearby who quickly explained. Only then did Emperor Zhao know that the so-called Dijinze was the starting point of Western Xia. When the Song Dynasty was founded, Xiazhou was contributed to the Song Dynasty by the Dangxiang nobles. Li Jiqian, the founding emperor of Western Xia, was dissatisfied and fled with dozens of riders to Dijinze, a desert oasis 300 miles north of Xiazhou. It was there that he accumulated strength and gathered tribes. In the end, he fought many battles and not only recaptured Xiazhou, but also took Hengshan and then occupied Xingling. He fought for supremacy with the remaining Tubo and died on the way to the west. He became the de facto founder of Western Xia.
After hearing this, Zhao Jiu couldn't help but be curious: "Since they have already fled to that place, they seem determined to restore their country. Why don't they persist and instead start an internal conflict?"
Upon hearing this, Weiming Yunge was deeply saddened: "Your Majesty, the ministers were not fighting internally, but were following orders! The reason why they could not hold on was not because of the ministers, nor the king, nor General Weiming (Li) Liangfu who escorted the king to Dijinze... The country is declining, but the king has ruled the country for forty or fifty years and his authority is still there. As for the rest of us, we have survived many deaths and are waiting for our ancestors to revive the country. Who is not a loyal minister who is willing to serve us regardless of life or death?"
Zhao Jiu was increasingly puzzled: "Why did Li Qianshun lose his ambition again?"
"Because the destiny is no longer with the Great Baigao Kingdom!" Weiming Yunge cried even more bitterly. "When the foreign ministers arrived at Dijinze, they found that the oasis that was once lush with water and grass had long since shrunk. Not to mention grazing and planting, even drinking water was difficult... Only one or two thousand people gathered, but in just a few dozen days, the springs were dried up... The soldiers were scattered day and night, and the few loyal ones wanted to follow him until death, but they were often trapped by a pot of water! Later, General Weiming (Li) Liangfu simply killed his own son, on the one hand to save water, and on the other hand to use blood to supply the soldiers... But the king found out and could no longer bear it. He said that he could die, but he could not let the prince and the King of Yue perish. When they were about to drink blood, he asked the foreign ministers to do it... Then he asked the foreign ministers and General Liangfu to bring the crown prince and the king of Yue to the capital to ask for an audience with Your Majesty, because the Song Dynasty has always been able to give wealth and honor to the surrendered ministers, but the Jurchens are not known for their nature... As a result, when we were almost at the edge of the desert, General Liangfu said that he killed his son for the sake of the monarch, and now that the monarch is gone, killing his son is like killing livestock, so he entrusted the last remaining water, the crown prince, and the king of Yue to me, and turned back directly into the desert... The foreign ministers had no choice but to continue to lead the crown prince and the king of Yue to the southeast, and ended up running into the Zhe family's search troops. "
When everyone heard that Xixia had such a tragic final outcome, they were all horrified.
Only Emperor Zhao was different in his feelings: "I've told you that Xixia overdeveloped the upper reaches, causing soil erosion, but you still don't believe it..."
When the ministers around heard this, they were shocked, but they actually believed it to some extent.
"Well!" Zhao Jiu sighed. "In that case... I will grant you a house, and you can adopt the two children as your adopted sons, and live a good life in Tokyo from now on."
The young Weiming Yunge burst into tears upon hearing this.
Besides, on the way to Tokyo this time, Yun Ge had already learned that it was Yelu Yudu who instigated the plot to destroy the country. Thinking back to what he said that day, plus the guilt of killing Li Qianshun with his own hands, he wanted to commit suicide several times... But the king was dead, and people like Renduo Baozhong changed their ways so quickly, and Li Liangfu was also dead. It would be a simple matter for him to die at this time, but what about the prince who was only seven or eight years old and the even younger King of Yue?
If I don't take care of myself, I'm afraid I'll catch a cold and die one day, right?
Thinking of this, Weiming Yunge not only suppressed his intention to die, but also kowtowed to the ground with tears in his eyes: "I would like to ask for a useful life with the merit of sacrificing my life. The Crown Prince and the King of Yue are here. I will never go back on my word. Please have mercy on me, Your Majesty!"
Zhao Jiu thought for a moment, turned around and exchanged a few words with several close ministers, and then nodded slightly: "If I don't use you in this situation, people will say that I am stingy. How about this, since you are a local general of the Tanguts, you should be able to raise camels, right?"
"Of course I understand!" Wei Ming Yunge quickly responded. "I am willing to follow Jin Midi's example and lead the camel for Your Majesty!"
"You don't need to lead the camels. I am just about to rebuild the Herdsman Department, which is your Dangxiang's Feilongyuan. There is a camel breeding site outside the city of Tokyo. You can be attached to the imperial camp and do the logistics in charge of camels... See if you can help the Privy Council to organize a Poxi Army... Then you can enter the cabinet with Ren Baozhong as a member of the Dangxiang royal family and give an explanation to Ningxia... How do you think?" Zhao Jiu asked in a friendly manner.
"Foreign minister...I am very grateful!" Brother Weiming Yun gritted his teeth and changed his address.
"Then go down." Zhao Jiu waved his hand casually. "Lu Sheren, go and take them to settle down."
Wei Mingyun brother quickly called Li Renxiao, and forced the ignorant Li Renyou to kowtow and express his gratitude, and then hurriedly followed Lu Benzhong.
After Lü Benzhong left, Zhao Jiu turned his head to look at the man in white who was bowing before him, but his tone was much lighter: "Are you Zhe Keqiu?"
"I am a guilty minister, Zhe Keqiu." The man prostrated himself on the ground, not daring to look up.
"Raise your head." Zhao Jiu spoke under the attention of many close ministers around him, and his tone was obviously unfriendly.
Zhe Keqiu, who was not wearing a hat, hurriedly did as he was told. Although he knew that he was in an awkward situation, he still couldn't help but take a look at the young official in front of him... Since the year before last, after Yaoshan, he especially wanted to take a look at the official who defeated Loushi, and after the fall of Western Xia this year, his desire became even stronger.
In a sense, the reason why he had persisted until now was largely because he wanted to see the official in person.
In sharp contrast, Zhao Jiu only took a look at the 43-year-old Zhe family head, who was at the prime age of a general, and became a little impatient:
"Have you finished reading? If you have, then let's get down to business. You call yourself a criminal, what crime have you committed?"
"I, a guilty minister, could not keep my integrity... and ended up kneeling before the northern barbarians." Zhe Keqiu quickly bowed his head and answered.
Zhao Jiu heaved a long breath upon hearing this, which was even more hurried than the one he took after taking away Li Qianshun's stinking head. After taking a few deep breaths, the official looked at the fish pond in the north and shook his head: "I know the process of your surrender. To be fair and objective, your crime is unforgivable but excusable."
"I am a sinner who can only receive this..."
"But you didn't just surrender once. You have three other serious crimes." Zhao Jiu interrupted without waiting for the other party to say anything. "One is that when the country was in danger, you still regarded the three states outside the Yellow River as your private property and used the land of the three states as a bargaining chip for the continuation of the clan, unlike Li Yongqi and Li Shifu of Suide who dared to abandon their land and travel around to serve the country; the other is that you watched Xu Huiyan die in the Jinning Army. I have ten thousand reasons to pardon you, but I can't stop Xu Huiyan from dying... If I don't punish you, how can I face Xu Huiyan and the Jinning Army soldiers who died with him when I go to Yuetai in the future?"
After hearing this, everyone understood the emperor's intention, even Zhe Keqiu lowered his head again and remained silent.
"Besides that." Zhao Jiu glanced at him and continued. "Your third crime is that you dared to come to see me! And you brought the head of Li Qianshun to see me... What's the meaning of this? Do you think that the head of a king who lost his country can atone for your crime? Or do you want everyone in the world to say that the Emperor Zhao was so generous to the Dangxiang royal family, but treated the people who have been guarding the border for a hundred years harshly?"
Zhe Keqiu was completely enlightened, and raised his head hastily. Just as he was about to speak, he saw the official waving his sleeves and saying to him in the stone pavilion: "I'll give you a sword, go out quickly, go through Xuande Tower, go through Xinzheng Gate, and go to Yuetai to pay homage to the spirits of Xu Huiyan, Li Yongqi and others on my behalf!"
All the words that Zhe Keqiu wanted to say were stuck in his chest. He could only kowtow several times on the ground, then stood up in a daze and turned to leave. Several Zhe family members who were also dressed in white and without hats wanted to follow him, but were stopped by the imperial guards and turned away. Only Zhe Yanzhi lowered his head and followed at Yang Yizhong's signal.
After he left Linhua Gate, Yang Yinzhong, who had been accompanying him, gave him a sword and asked him to leave with the sword in his hand.
In the morning, when the sun was rising a little, Zhe Keqiu turned south from Linhua Gate and walked to Yiyou Gate with a sword in hand. He regained some clarity of mind. He knew that the emperor wanted to humiliate him and then let him die in Yuetai in front of the world so that he could give an explanation to the world... and after his death, the three states outside the Yellow River would probably be directly ruled by the court, but his children and the Zhe family would be more or less saved.
When he thought of this, the man who had been mentally prepared felt a little relieved.
However, with a desperate mentality, Zhe Keqiu came out of Yiyou Gate, turned left through Yintai Gate and entered the front palace, but he suddenly stopped, because when he arrived here, he saw people coming and going in front of him. They were all bureaucrats and generals from the front province, Privy Council, and Chongwenyuan where the Secret Council was located, going in and out of the side door of Xuande Tower and Donghua Gate.
Civil and military officials walked back and forth, some in purple, scarlet, or green robes, some wearing armor and carrying swords, all looking around proudly, facing each other left and right, the atmosphere was high and warm, so much so that Zhe Keqiu, who was wearing white clothes, bare head and holding a sword, was surrounded by onlookers as soon as he set foot on the road.
People have a sense of shame. Although he had long understood that this was Emperor Zhao's original intention, Zhe Keqiu still paused, then lowered his head and hurried away.
However, the further they went, the denser the crowd of civil and military officials gathered. Moreover, everyone knew that the emperor had summoned Zhe Keqiu today. With Zhe Keqiu dressed like this, and with Zhe Yanzhi and Yang Yizhong leading the soldiers following behind him, who would not be able to wake up if they paid a little attention?
Besides, there were actually quite a few people who knew Zhe Keqiu directly, that is, the so-called old friends of Zhe Keqiu in the court.
Therefore, when Zhe Keqiu arrived at the main gate of Chongwenyuan, many officials from the capital province and the Privy Council in the courtyard had already heard the news and rushed out to watch. Even the four ministers of the capital province and the Privy Council, several Shangshu, Shilang, Jiuqing, and judges who were working there, when they heard that Zhe Keqiu had achieved results, also went out to see... just like watching Yue Fei passing by with the banner of loyalty to the country that day.
At this point, Zhe Keqiu was completely ashamed, his face flushed, and he was almost too embarrassed to show his face. He could only walk faster in an attempt to escape.
However, when he reached Xuande Tower, he suddenly stopped and then slowed down his pace... Yang Yizhong had given orders long before he arrived to open the door of Xuande Tower. At this time, the Imperial Street in front was bustling with people, and countless Tokyo citizens were curiously looking around, wondering why the door was opened and who was going to come out of it?
Could it be more glorious than the last time Yue Pengju did?
Zhe Keqiu, who originally thought that he could grit his teeth and walk to the altar for the sake of his family, and die in front of the altar in exchange for the safety of his family, was shocked at the last moment, and was in a dilemma for a while, and then completely panicked.
But I just dare not stop!
As he walked slowly forward, he looked back and saw countless officials of the current dynasty swarming behind him, some watching in astonishment, some standing in silence, some watching with cold eyes, and some sighing with their hands held high. Of course, there were also people pointing and talking. Even his nephew, Zhe Yanzhi, who was over fifty years old, was so embarrassed that he covered his face.
Looking further ahead, he saw that outside the main gate of Xuande Tower, countless Tokyo scholars and common people were gathered on both sides of the Imperial Road. The number of people far exceeded that of those inside the gate. They were all watching curiously. Some people even followed his steps forward and caught a glimpse of his figure, whispering with the people on the same side.
Not only that, it was not until this moment that Zhe Keqiu remembered that opposite the Xuande Building was the former territory of the Shangshu Province, where the public housing of the six ministries and nine officials was located, and the printing place of the official newspapers, where the students of the Imperial College gathered, was opposite the public housing of the six ministries.
If I go out this time, I will be laughed at by the world!
Frankly speaking, Zhe Keqiu had already realized that he would be laughed at by the world when he surrendered and followed Lou Shi to face Xu Huiyan. However, he also always believed that he could survive this for the sake of his family. He always had a kind of anesthetic feeling that he was sacrificing his own reputation for his family...So when the government directly humiliated him this time, he became aware of it.
However, no matter how much he thought about it and how much he realized it, when he arrived at the gate of Xuande Tower, he was frightened to the point of panic.
Who would have thought that a veteran general on the battlefield who was not afraid of death, a lord of a frontier town who was willing to sacrifice everything for his family, would be afraid of being looked at just because there were more people against him?
You must know that on that day in the Loushi military camp, he was only facing the gaze of Xu Huiyan!
At that time, although he was frightened and ashamed for a while, how could he have imagined that once people's eyes were gathered, it would be so terrifying?
This feeling of fear reached a peak when Zhe Keqiu stepped into the gate of Xuande Tower. He was in a panic, not daring to move forward or backward, not daring to stop, and even less daring to speed up.
He stumbled and shrank back, with only one thought in his mind - if he had known this would happen, why did he do it in the first place? It turns out that what can damage the survival foundation of the hundred-year-old Zhe family is not only swords, but also people's eyes? !
Isn't it just death?
In shame and anger, perhaps also because he did feel relieved that his family had finally returned to the Song Dynasty, Zhe Keqiu no longer hesitated. He just turned around and looked at his old friend's son Yang Yi Zhong and his nephew Zhe Yanzhi with a pleading look, and then directly pulled out the sword given by Emperor Zhao in the doorway of Xuande Tower.
Yang Yizhong and Zhe Yanzhi moved at the same time, but then stopped at the same time.
Then, Zhe Keqiu, who was dressed in white and without a hat, just tried his best to cut the blood vessels on his neck, and blood gushed out like pulp. Then, he fell to the ground as if relieved of a heavy burden.
The border general who was poisoned to death by the Jurchens in another time and space was actually killed alive by the officials and people of Tokyo inside the main gate of Xuande Tower.
"The emperor has issued an order... After collecting the bodies, no monuments are allowed to be erected, and no bodies are allowed to be sent home. Just find a place outside the city and bury them in a ditch, just like those who died without a burial place during the Jingkang Incident." Yang Yizhong stood in awe for a long time, and after a long time, when the blood on the ground spread, he turned around and explained the emperor's order to Zhe Yanzhi. "After this incident, the Zhe family's accounts will be closed, but no matter what, the descendants of the Zhe family, whether alive or dead, will ever return to the prefecture!"
Zhe Yanzhi was exhausted both physically and mentally, and just wanted to end the matter as soon as possible, so he nodded hurriedly.
A moment later, Yang Yi Zhong reported the matter to Emperor Zhao.
"Really?" Zhao Jiu, who was reading Hu Yin's memorial, should have not taken it seriously, but when he really heard the news, he seemed relieved and empty.
After all, no matter how insignificant it was, Zhe Keqiu's death and the arrival of Li Qianshun's head both represented the complete end of the unrest in the northwest.
It was Yang Zheng. Although Wu Jie never had the heart to kill him, he was tied up by Hu Yin, who was about to transfer him back to the capital, and was about to be escorted back to the capital.
It can only be said that with the chaos in the northwest, since everything has finally come to an end, no matter whether it is perfect or not, Emperor Zhao can't help but feel bored.
But for some reason, he always felt that there was something regretful, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
It was mid-autumn, and as the wind blew, autumn leaves began to fall. Yang Yizhong carefully turned to the side and stood solemnly. Zhao Jiu was even more prepared to continue counting personnel appointments and summon relevant officials.
However, suddenly, there was a cry of geese overhead, causing Emperor Zhao to look up. He was shocked to see dozens of geese flying southwards in the autumn sky in front of him. They were forming a V-shape and flying from north to south without stopping until they disappeared from his sight.
In a trance, Zhao Jiu finally realized what was going on.
So, he tore off a piece of paper at random, picked up his pen and started writing. After he finished writing, he handed it directly to Liu Yan:
"Send this letter to Lanzhou and have someone deliver it to Yelu Dashi, saying that you forgot to give it to him at the foot of the Helan Mountains."
After saying this, the official perked up and continued to handle government affairs.
On the other side, Liu Yan looked down and saw that it was a poem. After experiencing the situation in Helan Mountain that day, he immediately realized it and left without stopping. However, even though Liu Tongzhi was always recognized as a down-to-earth person, when the white paper was placed in his hands without any obstruction, on the way to put it in the box, the Liao Dynasty Jinshi couldn't help but look down and take a few glances.
As the saying goes:
The sky is high and the clouds are light, and I can see the geese flying south.
If you don't cross the Yellow River, you are not a true man. It takes thousands of miles to cross the Yellow River.
On the top of the Helan Mountains, red flags flutter in the west wind.
Now I have the long rope in my hand, when can I tie up the blue dragon?
(End of Volume 4)