Volume 5 Chapter 18 Report
Tokyo is still bustling in autumn, but it is just a little bit bustling and you get used to it. From this perspective, this autumn in Tokyo is relatively dull.
It had been a long time since there had been foreign envoys, so the arrival of envoys from Goryeo and Japan together was certainly a bit novel, but when envoys from all directions visited Tokyo City continuously and repeatedly, people soon got used to it.
There is also lottery. As soon as this thing came out, all the common people flocked to it... Of course, they are still flocking to it now. The limit on the number of Northern Expedition lottery tickets has even caused dissatisfaction among the rich. Some people in the cabinet have already suggested conducting Northern Expedition gambling in the Cuju League, allowing large bets per ticket.
The lottery has only been around for a few days, and it has already become like this. As for the treasury bond stall in Xuande Building, the green seedling loans and short-term goods loans in temples and large warehouses, the gradually increasing number of Western Regions and grassland items in the market, the takeaway carts running all over the streets, and the annual joint examinations and palace examinations, there is no need to say more.
People have even become accustomed to the Mid-Autumn Festival.
There is no way. Although the occasion is serious, the fact is that no matter who you are, it is difficult for you to have such frank emotions as the first time. This seems a bit sad, but there is nothing to criticize. Because this is life, life itself will bury any past experiences, and bury the most intense emotions along with them.
But then again, this seems to be the situation that Emperor Zhao, who planted mulberry trees in the harem, is most worried about, otherwise he would not be calling for a Northern Expedition every day.
But even with the slogan of the Northern Expedition, everyone had gotten used to it in just one year.
This autumn was the seventh year of Jianyan.
In the autumn of that year, Li Gang requested to retire and return home, but was rejected by Zhao Jiu.
In the autumn of this year, Zong Ze's eldest son Zong Ying was transferred back to the central government from his post as a county magistrate to serve as a deputy minister of the Ministry of Works.
In the autumn of that year, Prime Minister Zhao Ding's eldest son Zhao Fen still did not take part in the imperial examination, and still did not find a wife.
In the autumn of that year, Wang Zhongfu, who came from a martial arts background and had served as a guard of Emperor Zhao, left Tokyo and returned to Kansai. He immediately became a reserve general of the left army of the Imperial Camp. As he had a bright future, he changed his name to Wang Shixiong because he had the same name as Zhang Zhongfu, the commander of the Imperial Camp Cavalry.
Before leaving, he hesitated for a long time and finally did not ask his acquaintance, Uncle Wu, to help him find the young lady in the veiled hat whom he saw in front of Yuetai that day.
In the autumn of that year, after two years of martial arts training, Yue Yun, who was fifteen years old, did not stay in Tokyo to get married as he had imagined. Instead, he was sent to Zhang Xian's unit in his father's army to receive military training as an ordinary cavalryman.
In the autumn of this year, like her elder sister Foyou, Princess Shenyou was promised to the son of another general, Wu Fu, the second son of Wu Jie... Up to this point, all the daughters of Emperor Zhao had been promised to the sons of appropriate age in the families of generals of the current dynasty.
In the autumn of that year, from the Imperial Academy examination before the Mid-Autumn Festival to the Palace Examination after the Mid-Autumn Festival, in addition to the further increase in the share of original studies, there was also a considerable number of questions unrelated to classics, the most prominent of which were mathematics and geography... After the palace examination, the huge map drawn by Emperor Zhao himself, which covered the East China Sea, the Western Regions, the Northern Wilderness, and the South Seas, shocked the entire court and the public.
In the autumn of this year, the two retired emperors and the current emperor began serializing literary works at the same time. Following the Three Caos, the Three Zhaos were also set to make a significant contribution to the history of literary creation.
In the autumn of that year, as the old general Lu Xing resigned from his military post and entered the public cabinet due to old age, Wang De's controversial title of Jiedushi was officially awarded after the expansion of the army. Han Shizhong, Yue Fei, Zhang Rong, Li Yanxian, Wu Jie, Qu Duan, Zhang Jun, Wang Yan, Ma Kuo, Wang De and other ten generals who were both military officers and Jiedushi were called the Ten Jiedushi of Jianyan by the people.
Together with Li Qiong and Li Bao, who did not have the status of Jiedushi due to seniority issues, they were collectively known as the Twelve Governors.
After the expansion of the Imperial Camp, a count of all the commanders who actually led the troops totaled nearly a hundred people. However, some people with a liking for gossip pieced together a total of 108 generals. The two leading commanders were none other than Yang Yi Zhong and Liu Yan.
In the autumn of that year, there was a slight flood in the east and west of Beijing, but the situation was immediately controlled by Yue Fei and Wanqi Xie.
No matter how you calculate it, this autumn was the seventh year since Emperor Zhao fell into the well in Mingdao Palace.
When autumn ended and winter came, Concubine Wu became pregnant again, and Emperor Zhao finally grew a beard... He was almost twenty-eight years old.
No matter how much you deceive yourself, you are still considered middle-aged.
"Let's get started."
It was a sunny day in October. After returning from target shooting, Emperor Zhao walked back to the stone pavilion. After sitting down, he learned that no urgent secret letter had been sent at night, so he nodded to Yang Yizhong and others.
At this time, there were only many close ministers inside and outside the stone pavilion, but no important officials from the outer court... and what Emperor Zhao wanted to "start" at this time was, of course, just the daily routine intelligence briefing.
Many close ministers looked at each other, but Ren Baozhong was the first to step forward and bowed: "Reporting to the emperor, there were five things recorded by me yesterday... First, the official document arrived in the capital, saying that there was a fire in Hangzhou, burning down hundreds of houses; second, the Privy Council reported that bandits in Qianzhou have invaded the county again, and the general manager Guo Zhongxun has personally arrived in Qianzhou; third, the Daqin sea merchants in Quanzhou gathered at the Maritime Customs Office and asked to be allowed to purchase official ship flags, seals and documents in the same way as Han merchants; fourth, the chieftain of Gongzhou in the southwest rebelled and has been captured by the Yang family of Bozhou; fifth, the market under the city of Dongshengzhou was burned down by the cavalry of the Jin Kingdom..."
Besides, China is too big. Fires, droughts, floods, and even rebellions are all common occurrences as long as they are not large in scale. Emperor Zhao has always been a person who is not afraid of natural disasters. Even if he is struck by lightning, he would not take it seriously as long as he is not killed. What's more, there have been countless military activities before this year... Therefore, such matters have always only reached the capital province, and Emperor Zhao does not ask about them.
However, after the fiscal construction plan was fully launched in the middle of this year, the emperor changed the procedure of the morning briefing and asked his close ministers to summarize all the military and political news that would affect fiscal revenue and go over them to him. The person who received this honor was none other than Ren Baozhong, who was willing to work hard and already had a house in Jingyuan.
Of course, these news were just excerpts and summaries of official documents from public channels, and did not allow him to actually reach out to the intelligence agencies.
"The same thing." Zhao Jiu looked calm after listening to the report. "We should provide disaster relief and suppress bandits. We cannot give ship flags and seals to the Arabs, otherwise how can we show the superiority of Han merchants? There are also border disputes. We must retaliate when necessary. We cannot put the cart before the horse. We cannot save some money... But, Renshang, why did you bring the Tusi rebellion into this?"
"Let the emperor know that I am worried that the Dali copper mine transaction that I had agreed with Gao Mingqing would be affected by this incident." Ren Baozhong explained quickly.
At this time, Lu Benzhong couldn't help but interrupt: "Ren Sheren is overthinking... Dali's transportation with China is mainly through the Minjiang River. It is separated from Gongzhou by the Luo and Yang families, so it won't be a problem."
Zhao Jiu nodded immediately.
By the way, let me say a few more words here.
Gao Mingqing is one of the core members of the Gao family, a powerful family in Dali. He was an envoy sent by Dali after Zhao Jiu suddenly sent an envoy to Dali and proposed a diplomatic offensive of "regardless of etiquette, mutual exchange of what we have and what we don't have". Unlike the king Duan Heyu, he is a person who can call the shots.
In fact, the Gao family of Dali attached great importance to diplomacy with the Song Dynasty. Basically, the envoys who came to the Song Dynasty were all core members of the Gao family. The last envoy who came to the Song Dynasty was none other than the current head of the Gao family, Gao Taiyun, the ruler of Dali, and the ruler of Dali at that time was Gao Taiming, the father of Gao Mingqing.
As for Duan Heyu, whom Emperor Zhao could not forget, he could not even control the concubines in the harem... The Empress, who was from the Gao family, would often beat Concubine Mu and Concubine Wang De with a stick, and Duan Heyu could only endure it.
When Emperor Zhao thought about the fact that Wang Yuyan and Mu Wanqing would be beaten all day long after marrying Duan Yu, he suffered a huge mental shock. Naturally, he put aside all those messy thoughts and focused on winning over Gao Mingqing.
In the face of Emperor Zhao's favor, the Gao family behaved very appropriately and directly agreed to the special trade of tea and copper materials... But they also pointed out that Dali would suffer a great loss in this kind of trade, so they hoped to limit the period to five years and trade fairly in the future.
Emperor Zhao agreed to this immediately.
In fact, it was not just Dali, things were going well in Nanyue as well… The latter was now in a period of uncertainty over the country’s sovereignty, and its national power was declining. After being slightly threatened by Emperor Zhao, the envoys agreed to resume the so-called traditional transaction of ‘a foot of cloth and a bucket of rice’.
In other words, it was a direct trade for cloth and rice. The successful Guangzhou merchants would travel between the north and the south, and deliver the rice from South Vietnam directly to Jiaoxi, Mizhou (Jiaozhou Bay), and then to the reserve warehouses of the Right Army, the Front Army, and the Navy of the Imperial Camp.
All I can say is that everything depends on whether you can swallow your pride, and once you swallow your pride, there is always a way out... Even the closed Japan and the Goryeo Zhao official family, which had close relations with the Jurchens, could be controlled, let alone these two.
Turning back, Ren Baozhong was ready to withdraw, but Zhao Jiu thought about it and said again: "The two chieftains of the Yang and Luo families are said to have been very loyal. They have been separatist clans for hundreds of years, but they never pay taxes. Can we borrow some money from them?"
"Officials."
Ren Baozhong was shocked and stopped immediately, bowing his hands. "I think this is inappropriate... Although Yang and Luo are both Han officials, and Yang is the heir of the Yang family, they are independent chieftains after all, and are no different from the former Xixia Li Ni family in Xiazhou... Such people are docile and loyal only because the court does not threaten them. Once they are asked to do something, they may directly agree to it, but they may also despise the court and rebel."
Zhao Jiu thought about it and nodded directly, but then looked at Yang Yizhong: "Zhengfu, please contact your family more often..."
Yang Yi Zhong could only bow and say yes, then took a few steps back... This puzzled many people for a moment, because the next step was Yang Yi Zhong's report time, or it could be said that Emperor Zhao originally wanted him to speak, but he said it casually because he remembered that the Yang family of Bozhou and Yang Yi Zhong were theoretically from the same clan.
But soon, everyone's doubts became even greater - Yang Yizhong took a few steps back, took a box from a squad leader behind him, opened it in public, and actually took out a court report from it, a standard printed court report, and then carefully presented it to Emperor Zhao.
Emperor Zhao just took one look and burst out laughing: "Have the Jurchens already done this?"
Several core ministers around were shocked for a moment, but they didn't know that the official report was actually printed by the Jin Dynasty. However, the summary of intelligence in the morning had always been very particular and avoided, so they couldn't go forward to see what the official report looked like.
"That's right, Your Majesty." Yang Yizhong had already begun to report seriously. "This first official report is divided into 16 pages, with a total of more than 3,000 copies printed. All the officials in the Jin Kingdom can get it..."
"The Jin Kingdom is still able to adapt to local conditions." Emperor Zhao looked at the court report in front of him and shook his head with emotion. "They are not short of money, nor are they short of good craftsmen... Unlike us, we spent many years to come up with printing by plate, and finally broke through the printing cost and achieved one plate every ten days, but what about them?"
The people around looked at each other in bewilderment. Firstly, they didn't want to interrupt, and secondly, they also knew that the official was telling the truth... It seemed that the Jurchens were richer?
Of course, Emperor Zhao had once been chatting and laughing in a forum eight hundred years later, so he saw it more clearly than these people. That is, the economies of the Song Dynasty and the Jin Dynasty were actually very distorted.
If we look at the products, that is, the GDP, the Song Dynasty definitely crushed the Jin Dynasty south of the Huai River. The population was there, but because of the robbery and the war that devastated half the world, the finances were very tight.
At the same time, one point that cannot be ignored is that the Jurchens relied on their military rise. After annexing the Liao Kingdom, seizing the two rivers, and sweeping the Central Plains, they plundered a large amount of precious metals and top craftsmen in the most primitive way... The wealth accumulated over more than a hundred years of peace in the entire East Asian civilization highland was looted by them.
As one thing grows, the other shrinks. This means that from a financial perspective, the precious metals that the Jin Dynasty can produce may be enough to crush the Song Dynasty's rulers and ministers who are working so hard for money.
When he thought of the money issue, the official couldn't help but ask Yang Yi Zhong when the ships that went to Japan for mineral trade would return.
But needless to ask, Zhao Jiu also knew that the sailing time between China and Japan alone would take sixty days, and there would be trading processes in between. Moreover, although Taira Tadamori gave a reply at the end of July, no one knew how Japan’s internal struggle would evolve, so only God knew when the fleet would return.
With this thought in mind, the official simply stopped thinking about those groundless things and concentrated on reading the official report in his hand. It can only be said that the content is quite rich... How could it not be rich?
This is the sixteenth edition!
“I’m not idle.”
Zhao Jiu spent a long time reading the Chinese version of the Jin Dynasty's official report, but after reading it, he casually asked Liu Yan a question: "Is Wanyan Buluhu the eldest son of Wuqimai, the Grand Lord of the Jin Dynasty?"
After all, although Yang Yi Zhong is the original know-it-all, there is no doubt that it is better to respect Liu Yan when it comes to matters in the north.
"yes."
Liu Yan responded immediately.
"So all these people are Wu Qimai's gang?"
Zhao Jiu took out a copy of the official newspaper in front of him, pointed at a large paragraph of text with one hand and handed the newspaper to the other party with the other hand.
Liu Yan took it with both hands, took a quick look, and shook his head repeatedly: "Your Majesty, most of the Jurchen names are the same, and they themselves often can't tell them apart. After Aguda founded the country, he only gave the royal family Chinese names, and the people below are still confused. I really can't tell this list apart... However, many of the people here are from the Xi, Khitan, and Yanyun Han people. I can tell at a glance, and these people are definitely not the so-called Wuqimai party. Instead, the three Wuzhu brothers should be taking advantage of the rebellion of Wuqimai's eldest son to eliminate dissidents!"
"That's right."
Zhao Jiu nodded repeatedly at first, and then sighed. "Before, there was news from Goryeo that Wuqimai's eldest son was plotting rebellion. I didn't think much about it, but from the official report today, it seems that this matter is not that simple. Otherwise, after dealing with the so-called Wuqimai party, they immediately announced the abolition of the military headquarters outside the Great Wall, the reduction of the garrisons, the rectification of the military system, the training of new troops, the establishment of the Imperial Censorate, and the dispatch of censors from various places to inspect Hebei... In addition, the two Wanhu of the Western Army Huo Nu and the Eastern Army Wulin Da Taiyu returned to Yanjing one after another... The three Wanyan brothers are Sima Zhao's intentions, and everyone knows it!"
Emperor Zhao sighed, and Liu Yan was an honest man who didn't know how to respond, so the atmosphere became awkward for a moment. After a pause, the emperor flicked the newspaper in front of him again, thinking:
"However, Wanyan Wushu did not dare to touch those Wanhu... Instead, he wanted to win over those Wanhu generals so that he could deal with the more troublesome Meng'an and Mouke."
At this time, someone finally spoke up at the right time. It was the cabinet official Ren Baozhong: "Your Majesty, it seems that what Ma Jiedu said is absolutely right. The Jurchens have completely assimilated to Han culture, but Wanyan Wushu dare not touch a general of Wan Hu's rank."
Zhao Jiu nodded, but soon shook his head again:
"Ma Kuo certainly hit the point, but if I were in the position of the three Wuzhu brothers, I would probably do the same thing. After all, the Wanhu are only a few dozen people. It is easy to control and win them over, and it is also easy to deal with them after the success. The Meng'an and Mouke systems that combine military power and administrative power fell into the rich land of the two rivers, and they were not suitable for the local climate. This is the main reason for the decline and loss of control of the Jurchens' combat power. We must distinguish the pros and cons. Just like me, wasn't I forced by the situation to pull the generals and commanders to manage military affairs? Everyone is the same, so no one should look down on anyone!"
The atmosphere in the stone pavilion became a little solemn, but Ren Baozhong soon found a new focus: "So, could it be that the Jurchens have been learning to do things like the government?"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone inside and outside the stone pavilion looked dazed, even Zhao Jiu was a little stunned.
Because when I think about it carefully, it seems to make some sense.
However, after just a moment of shock, Zhao Jiu waved his sleeves and sneered: "Everyone should take care of their own business. I am worrying about nothing... Let's just do our own thing! Zhengfu, you continue!"
Yang Yizhong did not dare to delay and reported everything one by one.
Among them, there was news that the Military Statistics Department had found a problem with Qingmiao loans in a certain place, that someone went to visit the Supreme Emperor Yuansheng, that a battle had taken place somewhere in Hebei among the rebels, that the King of Eastern Mongolia, Hebule, had hesitated after meeting with the Jin envoy, and had delayed until now, but had finally sent the news of his two sons like the King of Western Mongolia, and even price fluctuations in Tokyo city, fluctuations in public opinion caused by Cuju gambling, and that a great scholar in the Imperial Academy had publicly criticized the lottery, etc., etc. ... There were all kinds of things.
Emperor Zhao listened to them one by one, and kept them in mind. He also gave instructions on some points that he felt were inappropriate - but he still did the same as before and sent notes to the Privy Council and the provincial capital.
Perhaps it was because there were more issues with the Jurchen reports today. After hearing the story, it was already noon. Emperor Zhao waved his sleeves and left. He took a group of close ministers to have lunch in the pavilion. Even the guards changed shifts at this time.
But that was not all. In the afternoon, the capital and the Privy Council sent some important matters that needed Emperor Zhao's approval. Emperor Zhao was inevitably busy again while discussing and making decisions. At this time, the main work was undertaken by the important officials of the outer court. The few writing tasks were also completed by the Hanlin Academy in the public house nearby. Most of the time, Yang, Liu, Fan, Lu, Ren and other close officials only had to stand solemnly with the chief guard Lan Gui for consultation.
In this way, they worked hard until the evening, when Emperor Zhao finally got up from the stone pavilion:
"It's been hard today, let's go home early!"
The emperor is used to saying this, and his close ministers are also used to hearing it.
Therefore, of course, everyone was silent, they just saluted together, then stood solemnly outside the stone pavilion, watching Emperor Zhao leave through the Yingyang Gate to the south, then they all laughed, turned around and prepared to leave directly from the Linhua Gate to the east... At night, there were naturally Hanlin academicians on duty who would stand guard next to the stone pavilion, separated from the Jingfu Palace by a wall... and the close ministers also had their own lives.
However, during this time, Yang Yizhong was silent and was about to go directly with his colleagues to the new residence in Jingyuan in the north, but he was stopped by Lan Gui, the chief escort of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The rest of the people were not surprised, just pretended not to see it, and left... The Song people liked to arrange seats and give nicknames. Yang Yizhong was in an important position, so of course he couldn't avoid similar nicknames... And one of the most unpleasant things was Hu Zi Ya Ban! It said that although he was not a eunuch, he took on the original duties of the chief Ya Ban of the Ministry of Internal Affairs because of the trust of Emperor Zhao and the fact that the Ministry of Internal Affairs was short of people. It was unknown whether it was thought up by the palace or the outer court.
Without further ado, let's just say that Yang Yi Zhong was detained by Lan Gui. After a while, the second escort Feng Yi arrived, and then the latter told a story.
It turned out that Emperor Zhao had been increasingly busy this year, and since the start of the financial policy, he had become noticeably tired and thin. Empress Dowager Wei had always been a recluse, only liking to watch new plays and not asking about external affairs, but when she saw Emperor Zhao like this recently, she became a little worried, so she asked someone to buy a big parrot and wanted to send it to Emperor Zhao... But after the candle incident, Empress Dowager Wei probably knew that Emperor Zhao had put away many thoughts since the Jingkang period, and had been frugal and determined to fight the Northern Expedition, so she might not accept it, and she kept hesitating.
"The Queen Mother asked me first, but how would I know? Then she asked Grand Official Lan, but Grand Official Lan didn't dare to speak. Finally, several people from the Ministry of Eunuchs discussed it and said that they might as well ask Commander Yang." Feng Yi finally said this by the fish pond. "Commander Yang, give me a word. If you think it's okay, I will risk my life to send it to the Emperor... Actually, we, the eunuchs, also think that the Emperor has worked too hard this year... And if Commander Yang thinks it's not okay, we can just discuss it together, or I will come forward and persuade the Queen Mother to keep the parrot to relieve her boredom and not mention this matter again. How do you think?"
Anything could happen in the palace, and Yang Yizhong had no problem understanding this kind of thing, but after thinking for a moment, he raised another question:
"Sixteenth Brother (Feng Yi's nickname), why did the Queen Mother insist on giving you a parrot?"
Feng Yi and Lan Gui exchanged a glance, and in the end, it was Lan Gui who whispered to the other party, "To be honest with Commander Yang, all the old people in Tokyo know that the emperor has loved playing with and amusing birds since he was a child! He really likes it! It's just that after he became an official, he buried all these hobbies!"
Yang Yizhong was slightly startled, thought for a moment, and gave a direct answer: "Don't send it... If you send it, the emperor will most likely punish you severely for the sake of the Northern Expedition to serve as a warning to others. It would be fine if you and I were punished, but the key is that the empress dowager might think that the emperor has some kind of hatred towards her! It's just a waste of time!"
Feng Yi and Lan Gui nodded in unison, understanding what was going on. Then the three of them said no more and dispersed.
Without mentioning the two eunuchs, Yang Yi Zhong returned to his new residence in Jingyuan, just outside the palace. He was greeted by his maids, concubines and children. Then he had a banquet and a meal, and then went to bed early... But for some reason, he tossed and turned tonight and couldn't sleep, as if he had something on his mind.
On the second day, he forced himself to be strong and went to the palace to be on duty early. However, as soon as he arrived at Emperor Zhao's target shooting, a subordinate came to report that the emperor had caught a cold yesterday and was not in good spirits. Today, he did not need the close ministers to report intelligence, and all the affairs of the outer court were handed over to the ministers to deal with.
Yang Yizhong had nothing to say, of course. He even felt a little relieved after meeting the emperor... because the emperor's illness was not serious and he was in good spirits, just having a stuffy nose and a cough. In this way, even without the parrot to entertain him, Emperor Zhao could finally have a good rest for a few days.
However, not to mention that when Father-in-law Pan entered the palace that day and personally diagnosed and treated the emperor with medicine, a few days later, the emperor's condition improved several times and then relapsed several times. Finally, his condition gradually became worse. After taking some fatigue-relieving medicine, he became drowsy every day.
At this time, although everyone in the imperial court and the harem was worried, no one thought that anything would happen... After all, the emperor was young and strong, and it was not a serious illness. As for the fatigue caused by the medicine, this condition was also a normal phenomenon... Only Yang Yizhong was gradually becoming a little panicked.
Because he clearly remembered that the last time Emperor Zhao was bedridden for such a long time was six or seven years ago, and that was in the autumn of the first year of Jianyan.
Now, it is the winter of the seventh year of Jianyan, and the eighth year of Jianyan is about to arrive.
