With the arrival of midwinter, the weather was getting colder. At the same time, Mr. Zhao's condition became increasingly erratic. He would often feel better for a few days, and then be bedridden again within a few days.
Gradually, it was natural that some rumors arose.
At the beginning, the rumors were only about the official's illness itself, such as how serious it was, what the consequences would be if it recurred, and whether he should find a famous folk doctor.
At this time, people's hearts were actually unsettled. In November, the emperor once again missed the grand court meeting at the beginning of the month, and even the monthly quota of Northern Expedition bonds became unsalable to a certain extent in Tokyo.
It should be noted that according to the current policy of the court, the national debt quota has already been broken down into monthly quotas in order to ensure a steady flow of funds. The monthly quota of 150,000 is distributed in many cities such as Tokyo, Nanjing, Jinan, Xiacai, Yangzhou, Nanyang, Chang'an, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Jiangling, Quanzhou, Guangzhou, and Jiangling. In this case, the share of Tokyo has been greatly reduced, but because of its political and economic characteristics, this city still appears to be particularly strong in the national debt market. Often, the monthly quota of tens of thousands of strings is sold out immediately within the ten-day protection period as soon as it is released.
In fact, according to the arrangements of the court's top brass, at the end of the year or the middle of the year, the government still has to allocate a certain amount of national debt to dignitaries, court officials, and even those powerful and wealthy businessmen in the government...the so-called draining the pond to catch all the fish, any catch is a good one.
Therefore, after entering November, any slight delay in government bond sales in Tokyo immediately attracted everyone's attention.
Even though the national debt was quickly sold out as the ships from Japan and Goryeo returned one after another, it could not change the public sentiment affected by this incident.
Sure enough, soon after that, there were some additional theories about the emperor’s illness… For example, it was the retribution for the emperor having imprisoned his father and brother; another example was that the emperor came to power illegitimately and never went to the eight tombs in Luoyang to offer sacrifices, so he was punished by his ancestors; another example was that in the early years of Jianyan, the emperor had raided temples and monasteries several times, and the golden body of the Buddha was scraped off, which caused the Buddha’s retribution and so on.
This kind of talk is certainly not worthy of being in a respectable setting, but it will inevitably spread among the people because the common people like this kind of gimmick. Even the liaisons of the temples and monasteries left in Tokyo who spontaneously held prayer ceremonies for the government were said to be forced by the court.
By the middle of the month, as the emperor still did not leave his house and there were rumors that he was seriously ill and unable to get up, these rumors finally gradually merged and formed a complete version that was unbearable for people inside and outside the court.
According to this rumor, when the emperor ascended the throne, he promised to return the throne to the two emperors after their return, so he tried his best to fight against the Jin army halfway through. He was determined not to negotiate peace for any other reason, but to secretly kill the two emperors, the queen mother and his brothers and enjoy the throne alone.
After the two emperors returned, the emperor not only did not return the power to them, but directly imprisoned my father and brother in temples. As for forcing my father and brother to write insulting "Memoirs", putting all the blame for the Jingkang Incident on them, this was an even more outrageous act of unfilial piety.
Moreover, since ascending the throne, the Emperor Jianyan has always valued military power over culture, treated clan elders harshly, killed ministers at will, expelled loyal and good people, violated the teachings of the sages, plundered and abused people, and rewarded and punished people unfairly. He should have abdicated and repented long ago. Now he is seriously ill, which is also retribution.
Furthermore, since the heir is young, the throne should be passed to Tai Shang Yuan Sheng or Tai Shang Dao Jun. At the very least, a virtuous and capable person should be chosen from among the brothers of the royal family to succeed him.
If this is really not possible, one should appoint a son as successor and have a virtuous king or queen to rule the country.
Otherwise, in the future, the country will be in doubt due to the young ruler, and there will be changes in the world. This will be the consequence of the current Emperor Jianyan's willful behavior.
Rather than being fabricated out of nothing, this rumor is more like a pieced-together construct. It pieces together all the controversial and unsatisfactory things that the current Emperor Jianyan has done, then draws an incredible conclusion, and finally gives a bunch of extremely absurd suggestions.
In addition, anyone with a little common sense knows that such large-scale, composite rumors could not have been formed spontaneously. There is no doubt that someone with ulterior motives deliberately mixed in.
And there is no need to infer this point at all, because the evidence is there... Hundreds of pieces of paper with rumors, written crookedly, were scattered on both sides of the Imperial Street, inside and outside the Jingyuan, and in front of the main stores and warehouses on Ma Xing Street at night.
Even a fool would know that someone is causing trouble on purpose.
Therefore, with the emergence of this extremely malicious rumor, overt political turmoil finally occurred in Tokyo.
First, at the Secret Council, at the daily routine meeting after the emperor fell ill that afternoon, the Grand Master of the Imperial Clan Zhao Shiyi, who had been absent from the meeting on the grounds of illness, came in person. He first severely criticized Zhao Ding, Zhang Jun and other prime ministers for their incompetence and for letting such rumors exist, which failed the emperor's trust. Then he asked the Minister of Justice Ma Shen to set a deadline on the spot to investigate the matter. Immediately afterwards, he handed Zhang Jun a memorial he had written in court, which was a memorial to be forwarded by the Privy Council to request the establishment of a crown prince. It clearly mentioned that the two emperors and the close branches of the royal family in Nanyang had lost their qualifications to become heirs, including regents, after the Jingkang Incident and the Northern Expedition. Finally, he stated that he was old and asked to resign.
The intensity of his words, his agitated emotions, and the hidden resentment and dissatisfaction within were really too much for the ministers to bear.
Even Chen Kangbo, the chief academic officer of the Imperial College who was originally scheduled to launch a massive attack on behalf of the young faction, subsequently lost some of his momentum.
It can only be said that Da Zong Zheng had experienced the Yaoshan orphan entrusting incident once, and had developed immunity and some intuition about such things. He also had a certain understanding of Emperor Zhao, so he dared to stab him to the end with such a veiled attack.
Thanks to the outburst of the Grand Secretary, after the Secret Chamber, the Public Chamber also hastily gathered, and then jointly wrote a letter to the court, but they basically copied the homework of the Grand Secretary... However, they not only blamed the prime minister, but also the entire Secret Chamber. As the ruler entrusted by the emperor to run the government, they allowed such rumors and had ill intentions. Then they still targeted the Secret Chamber and asked it to investigate the rumors within a time limit. Then of course they also asked for the establishment of a crown prince and paid their respects to the emperor, and at the same time criticized the two saints and the emperor's brothers. Finally, the so-called "unfair rewards and punishments" of Han and Kong took the opportunity to write a letter to resign.
After the imperial court, the Imperial Academy criticized the rumor, and the results of the criticism were directly published in the court newspaper. During the debate at the Imperial Academy, the descendants of the imperial family who were placed in Nanyang realized what was going on, and wrote letters through public channels, asking for the emperor's health, requesting an investigation of the rumor, and then confessing their own immorality and asking the emperor to appoint a crown prince as soon as possible.
At the same time, it goes without saying that the ten military governors, twelve governors-general, and a hundred commanding officers had probably already sent greetings to the emperor through secret letters to express their loyalty... It is possible that some of them did not know the rules and directly requested the establishment of a crown prince in the secret letters.
In other words, Zhao Guanjia's sting operation could be declared a failure from the very beginning.
However, throughout November, all the noisy displays of loyalty produced no substantial results.
Emperor Zhao still stays in the harem, but it is said that he listens to the daily intelligence summary every three days. However, the source of the rumors still cannot be found, but because the central government attaches great importance to it, it has become known to the world.
No crown prince was appointed, no one was punished, and of course, there were no unusual movements in the army... According to the words of a drunken commander, Emperor Zhao replied with eight words in his secret letter, which were "It's none of your business, so don't get involved."
It seemed like things had just come to a standstill.
However, by December, the emperor was still absent from the grand court meeting at the beginning of the month. Coupled with the memorials sent by distant relatives of the royal family in Yangzhou, even the public atmosphere began to become a little strange.
In other words, at this time, most people's judgment on this matter has gradually moved in the same direction.
And as expected, after the last batch of memorials were delivered, Emperor Zhao, who had failed in his attempt to fish for a prey, finally made a public appearance... or rather a semi-public appearance, because the location was chosen in the front hall of his bedroom, Gyeongbokgung Palace, the so-called Yeonhejeon, and the important officials from outer court who were summoned only included a prime minister, four ministers, a chief censor, and six secretaries of state.
Of course, the various close ministers who had been attending on a daily basis were also able to attend... but they obviously had no say.
The emperor and his ministers were facing each other. The important officials in the outer court instinctively focused their attention on the official's posture. The official did not hide it at all. He came in from the backyard with a relaxed step. After sitting at the table in the hall, he raised his head. His face was rosy and his posture was calm. He looked like he had recovered long ago.
After seeing this scene, most people except Lu Haowen remained calm.
Of course, that's just the majority of people.
"Are people outside saying that I'm making trouble out of nothing?" After Emperor Zhao sat down, the chief escort Lan Gui, the commander of the imperial guards Liu Yan and the gatekeeper Ren Baozhong came forward and moved the piles of sorted memorials to the desk in front of the emperor. Taking this opportunity, the emperor spoke directly, but with a look of half-smile in his face.
"Governments should not use trickery to control people."
Li Guang, the Imperial Censor, who almost couldn't hold back when the emperor came in just now, finally couldn't hold back this time. He stepped forward and bowed to the emperor sitting in the hall to give advice. "Don't you know that your safety is related to the foundation of the country? And how many people have been disturbed and caused so many unreasonable things in the past month? Who persuaded the emperor to pretend to be sick for so long? I beg you to behead him to thank the world!"
Zhao Jiu looked at the piles of memorials on the desks in front of him and shook his head repeatedly: "It was my own idea."
"Your Majesty!" Li Guang was furious.
"Li Qing, please be patient." Zhao Jiu remained calm. "In fact, please think about it. Even if I had doubts during my illness and couldn't help but test it, why would I have to do this? Why would I really make trouble out of nothing?"
"Your Majesty." The Minister of Justice Ma Shen took a half step forward with a dark face and bowed. "Excuse me, Your Majesty, by 'testing the waters', do you mean to admit that those rumors actually came from the palace?"
"That's right." Zhao Jiu looked at him proudly. "I let him out!"
"May I ask why the emperor is so ridiculous?!" Ma Shen was obviously angrier than Li Guang.
He had no choice but to do so. These days he had a harder time than anyone else... Everyone regarded attacking him as a way of showing loyalty to the government.
"Because I was really seriously ill at the end of October." Zhao Jiu answered calmly. "At that time, a whole day would pass by in the blink of an eye. I was really afraid that I would meet Daozu in a bad dream and never wake up again. By then, who knows if there will be some retired emperor, virtuous king, or virtuous queen who will change the course of the situation that I have worked so hard for six or seven years, just like the Yuanyou Reform after Emperor Shenzong?"
"Yuanyou..." Ma Shen hesitated to speak.
"The Yuanyou Reforms were just a party struggle after all." Zhao Jiu interrupted him, and then casually flipped through the memorials in front of him. "But today's situation is related to the unity of the country. How can I allow the death of a leader to happen at this time? Therefore, at the end of October and the beginning of last month, I had actually made up my mind. If someone really dared to collude without authorization... Humph... If the two saints dared to fight for the throne, I would really dare to do the candle shadow and axe sound; and if the three queen mothers and the two concubines were involved, I would really dare to do the same as Emperor Wu of Han who killed the mother and established the son; and if there were any wise kings or powerful eunuchs who dared to show up, I would be too lazy to find any allusions and just pit them and get the matter over with... In the final analysis, I will never allow the country to be in peace! Not even the slightest inclination! When I am alive, I will pull and drag this country to fight against the Jin Dynasty and to the Northern Expedition. When I die, I will take away as many troubles as I can!"
Emperor Zhao's tone was not harsh, and even seemed casual, but his fierce words still made Ma Shen and Li Guang clench their teeth, and also made the faces of the important officials who came today become completely serious.
They really didn't know how to speak.
But someone still has to speak... If you don't speak, wouldn't it be disloyal and unfilial?
"Officials should be careful with their words."
After Zhao Ding, Zhang Jun, and several other important officials wanted to speak several times but were unable to do so, the retired Lu Haowen sighed, stepped forward, and responded briefly.
"What is there to be careful about?"
Emperor Zhao, who was sitting there holding a memorial in his hand, did not look up, but only looked at Lu Haowen in front of him. Then he moved his gaze away from Lu Haowen, and after scanning the other important officials of the court one by one, he continued speaking.
"In the final analysis, the Jingkang Incident was not just the loss of a city and the exile of the two emperors, but the loss of tens of millions of miles of land in the two rivers, the loss of millions of lives in the north and the Central Plains, and the actual demise of the old Song Dynasty and the establishment of the new Song Dynasty... Compared with this, the state system, the fatherly love and filial piety, and the etiquette system are nothing... Don't you know this?"
No one said anything.
"You all know." Zhao Jiu looked away and smiled at the memorial in his hand. "You are smart people, the most elite among the scholars and officials in the world, how could you not know? The famous Taoist scholars in the south also know, they are also the elite among the scholars and officials. The local monks and dignitaries also know, even the Koreans know... But some people just like to pretend not to know, as if they can get by by lowering their heads and not thinking about those unspeakable things, and not doing those difficult things. In this case, if there is an Emperor Yuansheng or Empress Dowager Xuanren, even if you are willing to follow me today, you will gradually wear it out in the future, right?"
Someone else couldn't listen any more, and it turned out to be Zhang Jun Zhang Deyuan: "Your Majesty! Your Majesty's test this time has yielded results. There aren't too many people trying to cover up their mistakes. Overall, everyone is united and all follow your lead to the north."
Zhao Jiu shook his head and smiled again:
"Deyuan, you're overthinking. I'm not really mocking or teaching anyone, but I'm feeling something in my heart... There's nothing I can do about it. People just want peace, the literati just want to get by, the officials just want to be dull, the rich and powerful landlords just want their own gains and losses. It's only because I'm still here under this monarch-minister system that we can be of one mind and speak in unison. If there's no emperor who can make up his mind, even if there are some loyal ministers and good generals, they will be worn out by the overall situation... Thinking about it this way, who else but me can cross the river to the north, recover the two rivers, and annihilate the Jurchens? So, my illness is gradually getting better."
Lu Haowen had no choice but to bow and step forward: "I congratulate the emperor on his recovery."
The other important officials also held their noses and stepped forward to bow and congratulate.
"Thank you very much." Zhao Jiu put down the memorial and smiled. "Enough of the small talk, let's get down to business. This time, I failed to lure the snake out of its hole. Or maybe you all in Tokyo City have a little understanding of me and it's hard to coax me... However, there are still some interesting things happening in other places outside. Did you know that the medicine box sent by Empress Dowager Yuanyou yesterday actually contained the self-defense documents written by the two retired emperors?"
Everyone in the hall looked pale, but Ma Shen ignored everything and hurriedly bowed his hands, saying: "Your Majesty! The Empress Dowager Yuanyou is far away in Yangzhou, and she doesn't know the situation in the capital, and she may not even know the reasoning between the two emperors and your Majesty. It is difficult for her to refuse when the two emperors ask her for help. There is no possibility of collusion between the two parties."
"Yes, I think so too." Zhao Jiu answered casually. "But in this case, it is better to ask Queen Mother Yuanyou to return to Beijing to live. After all, the Yeonbok Palace is large and there are still some vacant houses... The three queens are together, which is convenient for me to fulfill my filial piety, and we can also watch plays and chat together to relieve boredom, and it will be difficult to refuse next time."
Ma Shen immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
"There is a man named Cao Yong, who is said to be the fifth-generation grandson of Cao Bin. In his early years, he followed the fleeing entourage of Empress Dowager Yuanyou to Yangzhou. Now he often travels between Nanyang, Yangzhou, Hangzhou and Luoyang. Does anyone of you know him?" Zhao Jiu asked casually.
There are actually people who know him.
Prime Minister Zhao Ding thought for a moment and blurted out, "I have known this man since I was a scholar in Kaifeng Prefecture. He is a cunning and unscrupulous person who relies on his ancestors' influence to get by. He is an ordinary rogue... However, he once sponsored Qin Hui, the current deputy envoy of the Privy Council of the Jin Kingdom, in his early years. Later, when Qin Hui became a little prosperous, he often showed off to others."
"No wonder..." Zhao Jiu sighed. "I cut off Qin Hui's way to return to the south, which means I cut off his way. It is normal for him to be like this."
"This kind of villain, who colluded with the royal family without permission and alienated father and son, monarch and ministers, should be beheaded!" Ma Shen was extremely impatient, especially when he heard the name of his old boss Qin Hui. He felt even more irritated... How could he not know that it was this man who had the connections and passed the documents to the two emperors and Empress Dowager Yuanyou.
"What about Wang Ciweng?" Zhao Jiu mentioned another name.
At this moment, the hall suddenly became quiet, and then many important officials looked at each other in bewilderment.
A moment later, the Imperial Censor Li Guang immediately asked Emperor Zhao in a serious tone, "Your Majesty, may I ask what this man is doing?"
"This person is the one who funded Cao Yong. Cao Yong traveled to many places, and he gave money to many places, and sent letters to various places to ask for smooth travel." Zhao Jiu answered calmly. "I have seen this person's resume, and it seems that he has been opposed to raising taxes on the South since before Jingkang?"
"Yes." Li Guang felt his throat dry. "This man is from Jinan, known as a famous scholar, and ranked first in the Ministry of Rites' second test (a retest for officials' children to avoid cheating). He was in Zhizhou during the early years of the Maritime Alliance. At that time, because Yanyun sent troops to fight, he set up a exemption fee for husbands, so he..."
"He was very resistant and did not disturb the people in Daozhou, which made him even more famous." Zhao Jiu looked at a memorial in his hand and answered. "After the Jingkang Incident, he stayed in the southeast. After Lu Xianggong (Lv Yihao) replaced Li Gang to lead the southeast, he recruited him to work. When he saw Lu Xianggong raising taxes in the southeast, he just walked away. Later, when Yue Pengju went south to quell the rebellion, he ran back and forth between Jiangxi and the two lakes, accusing Yue Pengju of stationing troops to disturb the people... Ma Qing was the governor of Jinghu North Road at the time, so he should know about this, right?"
"So that the emperor knows that Wang Ciweng also loves the people and has good intentions..." Ma Shen also found it difficult to speak.
"Yes." Zhao Jiu looked up expressionlessly. "People who love the people deeply and have good intentions will of course hate me, a king who levies heavy taxes and extorts money to make money and use military force. Then they long for the Queen Mother Xuanren to be reborn so that she can live in harmony with the people... What did I say when I first came in?"
"Officials."
Ma Shen remained silent, and Li Guang tried his best to answer. "This man is kind-hearted and has integrity..."
"How is this different from Du Chong?!" At this moment, the Minister of Personnel, Chen Gongfu, suddenly shouted angrily, which actually frightened Li Guang and made other important officials in the hall look at him in surprise. "Good intentions! Good intentions! Can you do such a thing in the name of good intentions? The national policy has long been agreed upon and has not changed for six or seven years. We must use troops and march north! In the front, we are forbearing for the country, and the entire court and the entire country are working hard to increase revenue and reduce expenditure for the northern expedition. Even if he is dissatisfied in the back, he should stop talking and abide by the rules of a minister! Now that he has really done such a thing, how can we keep him?! Minister Ma, just now you said that Cao Yong colluded with the royal family without authorization and alienated father and son and monarch and ministers. Now he is facing the mastermind behind the scenes, and you, the Ministry of Justice, have no explanation?!"
Ma Shen's face turned pale. He wanted to speak several times, but was speechless several times. In the end, he could only try his best to answer under the gaze of everyone: "This person involves the royal family, so naturally the government will make the decision."
"Your Majesty, is Wang Ciweng the only one like this?" Chen Gongfu turned to Emperor Zhao again under Li Guang's complicated gaze.
"How could it be just one person?" Zhao Jiu sneered. "He calls himself a famous Taoist scholar, advocates living in harmony with the people, and is not afraid of power. He is the so-called inner circle who advocates peace talks. There are many of them in the southeast. It's just that Wang Ciweng is bolder, so Cao Yong can directly confirm that this person gave the money. Wang Ciweng has always had a wide range of friends, and many people of the same kind cannot be dealt with. The only person who can be confirmed to have met Cao Yong with Wang Ciweng is Fan Tong."
"This man is Qin Huizhi's classmate and roommate at the Imperial College. He has always been dissatisfied with the heavy troops in the imperial camp." Ma Shen blurted out, then closed his eyes and sighed. "Please let the emperor deal with it on his own. We have nothing to say."
"No..." Zhao Jiu glanced at Chen Gongfu, Ma Shen, and Li Guang, and then looked at the other ministers and ministers who were silent, but couldn't help but laugh. "The killing of Du Chong is still remembered, and people often shout that I killed a civil official. The country will no longer be a country. Moreover, this person only interfered with the private affairs of the royal family and did not clearly violate the law. How about this, Wang Ciweng will be exiled to Zhuya Army (Hainan), and Fan Tong will go to Xining (Qinghai Lake), so that they will never be together in this life... Cao Yong, and a guard called Chen Yongxi beside Empress Dowager Yuanyou, will be executed together... The rest will not be involved, what do you think?"
"The emperor is magnanimous." Lu Haowen quickly spoke at the right time.
Upon seeing this, several other ministers also expressed their opinions. Li Guang and Ma Shen then blended in with the crowd.
"We need to comfort the Grand Master and let his eldest son Zhao Bufan join the Imperial Camp to do some work..." Zhao Jiu thought for a moment and continued. "The Ministry of War should make appropriate arrangements."
"I accept your order."
This was the first time Liu Ziyu spoke... In this kind of situation, even the Shangshu would not have many opportunities to speak.
"I noticed that this month's treasury bonds are selling very quickly. I plan to issue more large treasury bonds at the end of the year." Zhao Jiufu glanced at the Minister of Finance Lin Jingmo beside Liu Ziyu. His expression was a little strange, but what he said was expected. "Lin Qing, get ready."
Moreover, as Zhao Guanjia's sting operation failed, he remained silent, perhaps because he was worried about being purged, so the treasury bond market in the twelfth lunar month was particularly hot... After all, treasury bonds cannot be confiscated... So it can be imagined that the market for the large-denomination treasury bonds to be issued at the end of the year should also be very hot.
Given Emperor Zhao's temperament, he would not be himself if he did not take the opportunity to sell more Northern Expedition bonds under such circumstances.
In this regard, although Lin Jingmo noticed the official's look, he could only respond calmly.
After this exchange, the hall became quiet again... As a small hall attached to Emperor Zhao's bedroom, there was obviously a fire dragon burning in the hall. Everyone standing in it felt quite restless, but still no one spoke.
After all, everyone knows that some things have not been mentioned yet, and these things can only be said by Emperor Zhao himself.
In fact, except for Lu Haowen, the other ministers were not very active and were just waiting for those topics.
"I have thought about the prince for a long time." Zhao Jiu finally sighed. "After I had a son, I realized the difficulty of being a father... I wanted him to be wise and brave, but I also wanted him to be dull and simple... However, this is not something I can decide. What I am worried about is that if I establish a prince and give him an official position in the Eastern Palace, over time, there will inevitably be trouble between father and son... Let alone Emperor Gaozu of Han, Emperor Wu of Han, Emperor Gaozu of Tang, and Empress Wu Zetian, didn't the Emperor Taishang Daojun and the Emperor Taishang Yuansheng also have a big fight in the past few years? Especially since I am barely considered a half-emperor, there is no telling what bigger troubles will happen."
As soon as these words were spoken, many important officials from the outer court, including Zhao Ding, immediately reviewed the suggestions they had prepared, but before they could say a few words, they became helpless again.
There is no other reason. This official just likes to casually say some things that make people feel headache... When he was sick, he was afraid that the throne would be snatched away by the two saints, and then he used a fishing enforcement to force everyone to come out and shout to establish a crown prince. After he recovered from the illness, he felt that the two saints were nothing, and he didn't want to establish a crown prince, so he didn't establish a crown prince. Why does he have to talk about the fratricide between father and son for everything?
"But if I don't, once something happens to me, as I said at the beginning, how can I ensure that the Northern Expedition will not be in vain?" Zhao Jiu didn't seem to notice the helpless expressions of the crowd, but just continued to sigh. "It's nothing more than having a confirmed successor who can win the support of the people, and then let those of you who are willing to inherit my will protect him in the Northern Expedition... Don't you think so?"
Now that he has recovered from his illness, there is no need to talk about his last will or any other trivial matters... Even Minister Lin was too lazy to analyze the emperor's intentions. There was no need.
" That's right." Zhao Jiu really didn't want to let these people take over. "I have thought of a way... It's called a secret succession... That is, I will write two identical wills, one will be hung high on the beam of the main hall of Wende Hall in public, and the other will be carried by Yang Yizhong on my behalf. This way, no matter where I die, you can refer to it and appoint a new king."
Everyone was stunned for a moment, and immediately started thinking seriously.
Immediately, Zhao Ding asked seriously: "Your Majesty's idea seems to come from the Old Book of Tang. Persia has always had such a system... But Your Majesty, what if the two edicts are different?"
"It is really different. Of course, the one in Wende Hall shall prevail." Zhao Jiu certainly didn't know what the Old Book of Tang was. He copied it from 'my Great Qing'. As for who 'my Great Qing' learned it from, it was none of his business. "However, I will not create two equally powerful hidden crown princes. I must let everyone know the truth, at least it is tacitly understood..."
Having said this, Zhao Jiu turned his head and faced Yang Yi Zhong who was standing in front of the side door. The latter, who was holding the two boxes, understood what he meant and immediately stepped forward and brought the two boxes to Prime Minister Lu Haowen in public.
Lu Haowen, who was obviously caught off guard, glanced at Emperor Zhao, carefully opened the top one, and then solemnly took out the bright yellow silk inside. Then, Yang Yizhong brought the second box to the Prime Minister Zhao Ding of the capital province. Zhao Ding did not dare to neglect it and immediately followed suit and took out the second piece of silk.
"It's my eldest son, Zhao Yuanzuo."
While the other ministers and important officials were looking at the two yellow silks with solemn expressions, Zhao Jiu did not give them a chance to create a sense of ceremony, but directly handed over the answer. "There is no reason to bypass the eldest brother to give it to the second brother under the current circumstances. Of course, if there is another explanation later and the secret decree needs to be replaced, I will naturally tell you again."
After carefully handing the silk in his hand to Zhang Jun, the Prime Minister, Zhao Ding thought for a moment and then answered seriously again: "I think the emperor's move actually means not to establish an imperial palace? Rather than not to establish a crown prince?"
"Mr. Zhao, you hit the nail on the head." Zhao Jiu answered frankly.
"If this is the case, the advantages and disadvantages are obvious." Zhao Ding said seriously. "The advantage is that there will be no more subordinates to the Eastern Palace, and there will be less suspicion between father and son, monarch and minister, but the disadvantage is that the prince has no title and subordinates, so it is difficult to exercise his ability as a monarch..."
This time, it was Zhao Jiu's turn to remain silent.
After a long while, the official finally managed to smile and said, "If I say this is the real reason why I have been pretending to be sick until today, you may think I am talking nonsense, but this is the truth... Gentlemen, when I am not involved in things, how do you think the system of Prime Minister, Secret Council and Public Council works? Isn't it good without me?"
All the ministers in the palace, from Lu Haowen down, including several eunuchs who were not qualified to speak at this time, were startled at the same time, and then looked up at Emperor Zhao who was sitting there.
"I don't have any intention of making a big splash." Zhao Jiu said with a smile. "I don't have any intention of achieving succession overnight. I have just been thinking about the succession these days. My two sons are just infants. As a father, I think if my son or grandson is capable in the future, it would be good to make a Song Dynasty Emperor Wen, Jing and Wu. But what if the child grows up to be like Emperor Taishang Daojun? Wouldn't it be necessary to make a Song Dynasty Emperor Yang? And these days, I have been sleeping alone in the harem, and there have been constant rumors outside, which can be regarded as a clear political trend. Although you have been leading the secret cabinet as prime minister, there have been some waves, but you have been running the court properly. I can't help but wait a little... Then I can't help but think that if the prime minister and the secret cabinet have more power, and the public cabinet is given some power to supervise the secret cabinet, it can more or less turn Song Dynasty Emperor Yang into Song Dynasty Emperor Ling... right?"
Lu Haowen was stunned and speechless, while everyone including Zhao Ding, Li Guang and Ma Shen, were thirsty.
"Take your time!" Zhao Jiu continued to smile. "It would be great if I could rule the country from the bottom of my heart one day, but what if my children and grandchildren are not happy? I can only cultivate some traditions slowly... Even when I am alive, if you set up a secret chamber full of Taoism, I will have to disband it directly. When everyone in and outside the secret chamber talks about Taoism and is willing to march north, I will of course be happy to be a hands-off manager to avoid getting sick from working... As for the secret establishment of a crown prince, it is actually in response to this matter."
Among the important ministers below, except for Ma Shen, who came from a Taoist background, the others looked more or less in high spirits… Compared with them, Emperor Zhao’s previous feigned illness and his frivolous treatment of the crown prince seemed excusable.
It seems like I was fooled by Emperor Zhao.
On the other side, after Emperor Zhao finished speaking, he ordered Yang Yi Zhong to put away one secret decree, and then asked Lu Haowen to take the lead and watch with his own eyes as another secret decree was hidden in the Wende Hall.
Just as everyone was about to turn around and say goodbye, suddenly, Emperor Zhao, who had already stood up, turned back and looked at them:
"My Lords, what do you think? I have already moved the Empress Dowager Yuanyou here. Should I treat them equally and invite the two retired emperors to live together?"
The ministers were helpless, and seeing that Hu Yin, who had been silent all this time, was getting a little angry, Emperor Zhao finally sneered, shook his head and turned away.
After they came out of the door, all the ministers naturally followed Yang Yizhong to the Wende Hall to perform the ritual of hanging from the beam. This time there was no so-called official to disrupt the fun, which made people feel extremely fulfilled.
The matter was completely settled, and the ministers dispersed with their own thoughts.
However, just outside the Wende Hall, Yang Yizhong suddenly called out to one of them:
"Minister Lin!"
Lin Jingmo turned his head in surprise.
"May I ask if any of your relatives have settled in Xinghua Army, Fujian?" Yang Yi Zhong asked a question that completely lost the interest of the other ministers.
"Yes." Lin Jingmo paused for a moment, obviously remembering the strange look from Emperor Zhao before, but he waited until the other ministers had gone far away before he looked at him seriously. "My Lin family is very large, and Fujian has a small area, so we have many branches and leaves. There is a close cousin with the same grandfather who has settled in Xinghua Army."
"Then may I ask Minister Lin, before the Jingkang Incident, your cousin bought a maid when he was an official in Tokyo. The maid was pregnant, but her mistress was extremely jealous, so she was forced to leave the master and marry your cousin while pregnant...Does Minister Lin know about this?"
Yang Yizhong's questions became more and more absurd.
"I really don't know the inside story of this matter." Lin Jingmo was silent for a long time before continuing to respond. "But this kind of thing was common before the revision of the criminal code two years ago, and it was even more common before the Jingkang Incident... Commander Yang, this involves the private affairs of my cousin's family, so I don't want to answer more. If the emperor asks you to ask this question, please speak frankly."
"The child is called Lin Yifei, he is almost an adult, and was accidentally found by Cao Yong during this investigation..." Yang Yizhong also became cautious, he had to respect Lin Jingmo. "The emperor obviously does not want to implicate innocent people, and I came to find Minister Lin without authorization... But please rest assured, Minister Lin, I just hope that Minister Lin can verify the origins of his mother and son, and it will not affect them, because if it is true, as long as one side sends a single word to the north, it may be able to change the overall situation with a small effort... That jealous woman will have no descendants."
Lin Jingmo was so smart that he realized it almost instantly after hearing these words, but he raised his head and sighed: "Yifei is not well-educated. After I returned to the capital, he worked as a manager in my house as a nephew... I knew that there were some stories about his life, but I never dared to think that he was the only blood of the prime minister of the enemy country."
Yang Yizhong remained silent.
Lin Jingmo turned around and shook his head, about to leave, but then stopped and looked back: "Commander Yang, tell me, if that person had known that his only child was safe here, would he have been so calm to become a traitor to the Song Dynasty that day?"
Yang Yizhong finally spoke calmly: "There is a saying among officials about this matter. It says that some journeys are like carrying a heavy load down a mountain. Once you start, you can only go all the way to the end... just like some journeys are like carrying a heavy load up a mountain. After taking ninety-nine steps, the last step will only throw away all the previous efforts."
Lin Jingmo nodded and turned away.