Volume 5 Chapter 26 Accident
Emperor Zhao led all the officials out of Yuetai, not because Wang De had made great contributions and deserved extra courtesy... but because the Zhao Song Dynasty had the tradition of holding military parades in the western suburbs in late spring and early summer.
Specifically, every year in late spring, the Emperor of Zhao Song would go out of the west gate, take advantage of the rising water level to review the navy at Jinming Lake, and then review the troops at the banquet hall between Qionglin Garden and Jinming Lake. Throughout the process, the troops would also perform so-called competitions and performances.
Of course, thanks to the management of General Gao Qiu and the personal preference of Emperor Taishang Daojun, during the Fenghengyu era, this event basically became a talent show. Soldiers often had to dress up as lions, tigers, ghosts and gods to enter the arena. Those who were fighting had to perform routines in pairs, those who were in formation had to wear flowers and dance, and those who were archers had to use people holding five plates as targets.
There is even a dramatic performance, which is a routine of a fight between a village husband and a village wife. It is said that in the end the village woman must be carried to the end by the village husband to be authentic.
In addition, young palace maids, under the leadership of the nobles in the harem, had to dress in men's clothes, put on armor, mount horses, and cover themselves with colorful cloaks to engage in horse battles with the imperial cavalry. Their movements had to be coordinated and their faces had to be pretty... You don't need to ask to know that the palace maids would definitely win in the end.
In essence, these things are no different from the Indian military parade, or even worse, because there are no motorcycles. But in any case, there is no way they can have any real military atmosphere... Of course, then again, this is the way the times are, and ordinary people like it. If they were replaced with a more solemn military train, it would be a lot less interesting.
As for Zhao Jiu's decision to come out this time, it was after careful consideration for a long time.
Moreover, since he fell ill last year, he has learned his lesson and no longer interfered in state affairs. Instead, he further pushed the general affairs to the capital and the Privy Council, only paying attention to personnel, the military, and intelligence work. At the same time, he turned his attention back to his own specific advantages... that is, to do those strange and tricky things, and make some flashy and flashy things.
First came the hot air balloon, then the Zhao temperature system, then the monocular telescope ground out of crystal, and then after dealing with the court's personnel issues, they chose to prepare for this military parade.
It was called a military parade, but in fact it was a military competition held by the entire army after learning about the previous "precedent" from a memorial in early March and deciding to take advantage of the situation.
In fact, those who returned with Wang De this time included the left army and the rear army of the imperial camp, as well as some meritorious soldiers of Li Yanxian's central army, while some elite soldiers of the front army, the right army of the imperial camp, and even the navy had arrived in advance.
Everything is ready, except for Emperor Zhao's dragon banner.
However, on this day, Emperor Zhao's dragon banner and the left and right white yak banners and black yak banners displayed as trophies did not go to Qionglin Garden or Jinming Lake, but directly arrived at Yuetai, the back half of which had been converted into a sacrificial temple.
Over there, Emperor Zhao first received Wang De and his troops who had returned from the rotation battle. Then he did not rush to start the so-called "military review". Instead, he started doing work that he had not done for a long time. The emperor sat on the throne in the center of Yuetai, before the temple, and personally watched the officials of the Ministry of Revenue distribute rewards to the troops who had participated in this rotation battle.
Silks of different grades, strings of brand new copper coins, white silver, and the smallest but always the most eye-catching gold ingots were poured out from the boxes, sparkling together in the early summer sun. Whenever someone was called forward, officers and clerks would carefully weigh them and distribute them to the soldiers according to the written measurement.
This is what is called 'deciding now'...old fashioned, but very practical.
The rewards were distributed one after another, which was very time-consuming, and Emperor Zhao sat there solemnly. Although many of the prime ministers and important officials were also seated, so he was not tired, the atmosphere was still a little dull.
In particular, for some unknown reason, Emperor Zhao looked more and more serious, and his brows furrowed more and more tightly as he looked at the dwindling wealth and belongings... At first glance, one might have thought that he was feeling sorry for these rewards!
"Excuse me, may I ask if the emperor feels sorry for these rewards?"
Suddenly, not far from Emperor Zhao, a senior official in a purple robe stood up and spoke, which sounded extremely harsh amid the shouts of rewards from a little further away.
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and found that it was the new Left Vice Minister of Works Gou Longruyuan, and they were surprised for a moment.
Frankly speaking, even Zhao Jiu was a little stunned in his heart, because he did not have a deep impression of this person, and the few impressions he had seemed very contradictory... On the one hand, this person was able to stick to his position in the Quanzhou Fan Temple case, and seemed to be an upright minister, but he might also be opportunistic; on the other hand, this person's original surname was Gou, but he changed it to Gou Long after Jianyan. Although it was natural to avoid taboos in this day and age, he took the initiative to avoid taboos to the extent of changing his surname, which inevitably made him seem loyal but also a little flattering.
Apart from this, it was probably because this person had a clean background, had been in the prefectures and counties for more than ten years, and had great experience, so when he was introduced into the court by Zhang Jun, who was also from Sichuan, no one could object.
When Zhao Jiu thought of this, he also had a hint of testing intention, but his expression did not change at all, and his body did not move at all. He just frowned and responded:
"Yes! What can we do?"
"In that case, please allow me to congratulate you!" After saying that, without any hesitation, Gou Longruyuan stood up from his seat and bowed in front of all the ministers. "The emperor loves the people so much. If the Northern Expedition succeeds and the two rivers are recovered, there will be real hope."
The ministers were increasingly stunned.
Even Zhao Jiu could not help but ask seriously after a moment of silence: "What is the reason for Gou Longqing's words?"
"Reporting to the emperor, there is no reason, I just think of others!" Gou Longruyuan raised his head and said solemnly. "When I was in Quanzhou, every time I collected taxes, I saw the people paying every penny, and I was always worried that the central government would waste the blood and sweat of the people in the south of the Yangtze River, and I was also very serious... Today, seeing that the emperor is so solemn, I know that the people in the south of the Yangtze River have not worked in vain."
Zhao Jiu was stunned again and remained silent for a while, but many important civil and military officials around him became solemn... at least on the surface.
"Your Majesty, this is a flatterer!" But just as Emperor Zhao was hesitating for a moment, someone behind him couldn't help but blurt out the answer. Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and found that it was Lv Benzhong, a Hanlin scholar who had just been promoted to a full-time position through the expansion of the Hanlin Academy. Everyone had different expressions on their faces.
"How can you call your colleague a flatterer without authorization?" Zhao Jiu's heart moved slightly when he heard the voice, but his expression remained unchanged.
"Your Majesty!" Lü Benzhong seemed to regret what he said, but since the emperor had already spoken, he could only step out of the stairs and bow to Gou Longruyuan. "Let's not talk about this man changing his surname to avoid taboos. Later, he worked in Quanzhou. It is obvious that as the governor of Quanzhou, he knew your attitude towards foreign merchants before and intended to speculate... Today's behavior is even more direct and flattering. Otherwise, why would he ask your Majesty first and then speak? I think if your Majesty said no, he must have said something else!"
Zhao Jiu's expression remained unchanged. He just looked at Gou Longruyuan who was silently looking at Lu Benzhong.
"Reporting to your majesty." Gou Longruyuan withdrew his gaze from Lü Benzhong and simply bowed his hands in response. "Mr. Lu's argument is clearly a diatribe, without any real evidence. And what I said just now was truly sincere, and I had no intention of flattering you. As for why I must ask your majesty before speaking, there is a reason... As far as I know, your majesty is not the only one who frowns and looks solemnly when distributing military pay and rewards. Zhang Jiedu, the right army of the imperial camp, and Yue Jiedu, the front army of the imperial camp, are also like this, and it is well known. But I don't think that these two are so solemn, they have the same idea in their hearts."
Zhao Jiu finally laughed... and even felt a little proud in his heart.
The rest of the ministers also seemed to be in a state of sudden realization and laughter.
Besides, Yue Fei and Zhang Jun were both important generals in the country and influential figures. Moreover, they had been in office for such a long time that their temperaments were well known to everyone.
Yue Pengju and his troops were mostly exiles from Hebei. From the beginning, they were often attacked by the southern scholars and people. It was said that the court was using the fat and blood of the southern people to support the scoundrels of Hebei... In this regard, Yue Fei, who had gone south to quell the rebellion and witnessed the heavy burden on the people south of the Yangtze River, did not complain. Instead, he acknowledged this and often warned his subordinates that the military pay was increasing day by day, and it was all the fat and blood of the southern people.
Therefore, almost every time the military salaries were distributed, Yue Fei would sit there with a gloomy face. His real intention was probably the same as what Gou Long Ruyuan had just used to flatter Emperor Zhao.
As for Zhang Jun...it's not easy for everyone to mock him openly, but everyone knows in their hearts that this guy is probably really reluctant to let him go.
At this moment, Zhao Jiu was feeling very proud, but in fact, he was slightly different from what everyone else thought… Firstly, Gou Longruyuan could link himself to Yue Fei and praise him in various ways. Although he couldn't say it out loud, he was very happy in his heart; secondly, others didn't know, but he knew that Zhang Jun never personally distributed military pay in the past, and it was always he and his subordinates who intercepted it layer by layer. Now he personally distributed it because the money didn't pass through his hands at all, so he simply pretended to be selfless, but every time he felt heartbroken, he couldn't help but take a look… Knowing all this, how could he not be happy?
Of course, at the same time, Zhao Jiu also believed that Gou Longruyuan was a flatterer.
It's not just because of today's performance, but he had that idea from the beginning, not to mention Lu Benzhong's words... You have to know that Lu Benzhong is good at writing poems, playing chess and being a hanger-on, but he is not so thorough in politics. And this time is different from the last time against Cai Mao. Cai Mao was the son of the prime minister who had been hanging around in the capital for decades in his early years. He and Lu Benzhong probably knew each other for decades. Lu Yanei certainly knew the details, but this Gou Longruyuan was unlikely to have any intersection with Lu Benzhong.
Lu Dayanei said this, most likely because he heard Lu Haowen's words unintentionally at home and remembered them in his heart.
In other words, today it was not Lu Benzhong who thought Gou Longruyuan was a flatterer, but Lu Haowen who thought this person was such a person.
Of course, if Lu Haowen were here, he would never say it. In fact, it is very likely that some of the important ministers present already viewed Gou Longruyuan in this way, but they did not say it... Because they knew very well that flattery or not was not a particularly serious matter for Emperor Zhao. As long as this guy did not make mistakes because of flattery, it did not matter. And if this person could still get things done, it would be even more okay for him to be a little flattering.
In a sense, Zhang Deyuan was also a bootlicker. Moreover, he was terrible at writing poetry and his handwriting was sloppy. At first glance, his cultural level was not as good as Qu Dalai's... Instead of going to Guanzhong to revive his career, he came to the river to fish... Zhang Jun definitely could not write such a poem.
But whether it is Zhang Shuxiang or Qu Jiedu, aren't they Shuxiang and Jiedu now? And they are on the Yuetai.
No matter what, Gou Longruyuan's actions are not worth mentioning in the eyes of Emperor Zhao compared with his performance in the Quanzhou Fan Temple case and the overall situation of the central government's need for people.
Sure enough, with Emperor Zhao's casual smile and slight wave of his hand, the small storm passed easily.
Only, Lü Benzhong got bored, but Gou Longruyuan didn't get any benefit either... No other reason, after all, it's not just Emperor Zhao, it's not just Lü Haowen who's not here today , the Manchu prime ministers, the inner court and the outer court, which one is easy to get along with? I had already labeled this person in my heart, and after this incident, there's no need to say more.
Even Zhang Jun, his fellow countryman who had brought him into the court, felt a little regretful... His side already had a bad reputation in the court, and if he brought in a person like this, wouldn't it make it seem that the other side was a gentleman, and his side was a group of villains who had luckily joined?
Of course, no one showed up in public...especially since Lu Benzhong had just been embarrassed.
On the other hand, as the rewards were handed out, the expected situation occurred - after the rewards were handed out, less than one-third of the many gold, silver and copper threads on the stage were gone, and many soldiers below the stage could not help but become agitated.
At this time, there was of course no need for Emperor Zhao to speak, as the chancellors Zhang Jun and Zhang Deyuan stood up to explain the situation, and then took the opportunity to announce the start of the "military review and military exercise".
However, for some reason, something unexpected always happens today.
Before Zhang Deyuan could go down to speak, the commotion below the stage suddenly escalated, and then there was a commotion somewhere on the side of Yuetai, as if someone could not bear it any longer and was making a noise.
The civil officials on the stage looked at each other, then their faces turned pale. This was the thing they feared the most.
Even Zhao Jiu had a calm expression, but was somewhat shocked and angry in his heart.
Fortunately, the noise went away quickly. Before Liu Yan led the imperial guards down the Yuetai, Wang De came up with the troublemaker to apologize. Upon asking, it turned out that it was Wang Shun, the second son of Wang De, who had made the greatest contribution in Hezhong Prefecture.
Perhaps it was because of this that Wang Shun couldn't help making a noise.
But no matter what, this kind of thing could not be tolerated. Emperor Zhao thought about it for a moment and immediately dealt with him. He deprived him of his military merits, took back his rewards, and expelled him from the army... Although he was extremely angry, he could not really kill anyone in front of Wang De.
Moreover, if this kind of thing happened, it would not be a big deal if it was really Wang Shun who suffered from the Yanei disease. But it was probably a problem for the entire army - there had not been a real war for a year or two, and the various old problems in the army had not been corrected, but instead a certain kind of arrogance and impatience had arisen among the grassroots.
The latter is what really shocked and angered Zhao Jiu.
After another small disturbance, the emperor and his ministers on Yuetai each forced themselves to suppress the great vigilance that arose in their hearts, and the military review and military exercises officially began.
Seeing the obvious rewards, the soldiers were naturally excited.
Then, as the martial arts performance instructions were issued, the military scholars gave their routine explanations. Only then did everyone realize that this martial arts performance was not as confusing as in the past, but rather quite interesting...
For example, in a cavalry horse racing competition, there are short-distance and long-distance competitions. The short-distance competition is allowed to discard armor and travel light, and the only thing to do is to see who can complete a circle around Yuetai and Yuetai camp along the road first. The long-distance competition requires full armor, a day's dry food, a barrel of drinking water, and a bag of fodder. They start from Yuetai and go to Qingcheng outside the south gate of Dongjing City to pick up a token, and then return to Yuetai. They can choose their own route, and are not allowed to lose key items except for food and fodder, and are not allowed to eat elsewhere during the journey. Whoever returns first is the winner.
In addition, there are mixed cavalry exercises, which are divided into two types. One is a team of fifty people, with two teams competing for supremacy; the other is a mixed exercise of a hundred people, where each team fights on their own. They all hold wooden poles wrapped in cloth and attack on horseback, but are not allowed to install reins and stirrups. Once they fall off the horse, they are considered a loser.
For example, some infantrymen also run, which is similar to cavalry riding horses, except that they don’t have mounts.
The infantry mixed drill is similar, but the practice is changed to taking the names posted on the opponent's vests.
There is also archery. The competition is not about who has more tricks. They just put up a target with ten circles drawn on it from the inside to the outside. After a tube of arrows is used up, with the same bow, same distance, same time, and same target, it is easy to see who is the most accurate.
But crossbow shooting is different from archery. It is not a competition of accuracy, but one must use the magic arm bow and load the crossbow by oneself to ensure that the crossbow arrows will be effective only when they reach a certain distance. The competition is about who can shoot all 20 standard crossbow arrows in the shortest time.
There are many other kinds of games, ranging from iron ball throwing to tug-of-war, weightlifting, spear throwing, and cuju in the army.
There were many projects, and the schedule was scheduled for more than ten days...On that day, the matter was only announced, and from the evening, all officials returned, but only Emperor Zhao and the imperial guards, as well as relevant officials from the Ministry of War, stayed in the Yuetai camp to observe and deal with the matter.
In the next few days, officials occasionally came, but they were all casual.
Regardless of other things, after several days, thanks to the support of Emperor Zhao and the fairness of the martial arts performance, the matter was finally on the right track. It did indeed arouse the desire of all units in the army to win, the scene became more and more exciting, and even attracted a large number of people to watch every day... These scenes made Emperor Zhao put aside the matter of Wang Shun for the time being, and his mood improved day by day.
By the end of April, although there were some flaws because it was held for the first time, the martial arts competition was still considered a success. After all the rewards were awarded, Emperor Zhao finally returned with the civil and military officials who left the city again... According to Zhao Jiu's plan, this time when he returns, he will use the simplified Arabic numerals that he had already used (Arabic numerals at that time were actually completely different from those in later generations, and even a little strange), and then promote them thoroughly and widely together with the chart system, incorporating them into government work and even the imperial examinations.
Just like that, Zhao Jiu, who was in a good mood, took the lead and turned back with the civil and military officials. When they reached Kaiyuan Gate (the west gate of Tokyo City facing Xuande Tower), they encountered an accident again - they still had to kneel down to file a complaint to the emperor.
Of course, it would be a bit inappropriate to say that it was an accident. This happened too often, and it even had a tradition. Zhao Jiu did not take it seriously, and just like last time, the relevant personnel handled it according to the established procedures - since it was a complaint rather than an admonition against the emperor, it was natural that the imperial guards would take the person to the side of the road, and then the officials from the Ministry of Justice would come forward to take the documents, and other officials would come forward to comfort and ask questions.
At the same time, the large army continued on its journey, still slowly returning to the city.
No one took the matter seriously. Zhao Jiu, who had watched a military sports meeting and had a new plan in mind, took it even less seriously... Until the grim-faced Minister of Justice Ma Shen suddenly stepped forward, bypassed the four ministers, and handed a document to Emperor Zhao in public.
Obviously, this is the document of petitioning the emperor that has just been received.
Zhao Jiu didn't take it seriously at first, so he took it and opened it to read. But after just a glance, he suddenly realized what Ma Shen had done, and he was also completely furious! And this time, the anger caused by Wang Shun's actions a few days ago was even greater!
But he had been the emperor for many years after all, and he was well trained. He still did not show it on his face. He just casually put the document away in public, glanced at Ma Shen lightly, and continued to ride forward.
According to political rules, he should have handed the document to the ministers for their review, but none of the ministers asked for it. Even Ma Shen unexpectedly did not say a word. He just slowed down the speed of the mule under his crotch and returned to the queue behind the ministers... and his face was still gloomy.
Now, regardless of the emperor and the prime ministers, only looking at the expression of Minister Ma, the important officials in the front row all knew that something had happened, but they could only pretend not to know, and then force themselves to be strong, urge their mounts, and follow Emperor Zhao back to the east... As long as they reached Xuande Tower and entered Xuande Gate, they could take advantage of the situation to disperse, and then go to inquire privately.
However, when the imperial carriage arrived in front of Xuande Tower, another small accident occurred.
A flying bird was startled by the ceremonial guard and flew out from the doorway of Xuande Tower, almost floating away in front of Emperor Zhao. This was not a problem, but the key point was that the horse under Emperor Zhao was not a famous horse at all, but just an ordinary horse. When it was rushed by the bird, although it did not lose control, it actually staggered for a moment and dared not to go into the doorway.
Zhao Jiu urged the horse several times but it wouldn't move forward. He became angry and simply dismounted, preparing to walk into the palace. The other officials had no choice but to dismount from their mules and horses as well.
At this time, perhaps the old problem came back. After getting off the horse, the Minister of Works and the Left Minister Gou Longruyuan could not help laughing and said: "Your Majesty, this imperial horse must have seen so many rewards from the emperor at Yuetai, and he also wants to ask for a reward or even a status..."
madness!
Too much!
Countless people mocked the new minister in their hearts.
As expected, Zhao Jiu finally turned back indifferently, glanced at Gou Longruyuan, then looked at the horse, but then glanced at several prime ministers and ministers, and finally looked at Yang Yizhong on the side, and coldly ordered:
"For a mere horse, you ask for a reward for no reason. Where do you put the soldiers in the imperial camp? Kill this horse and display its head to the public!"
After saying this, the official walked straight into the palace.
Seeing this, Gou Longruyuan was stunned, then turned pale, and stood there in shock, while other important ministers were also pale... They could indeed see that the emperor was in a bad mood, and they also saw that Gou Longruyuan had gone too far and offended the emperor, but no matter what, they never thought that things would come to this point.
The emperor disappeared directly into the huge gate tower, leaving only the guards and officials outside the gate. Yang Yi Zhong looked at Liu Yan beside him, feeling helpless. He called two guards to remove the saddle stirrups first, and then Liu Yan personally grabbed the horse's head. Yang Yi Zhong personally drew his sword, and with a wave of his hand, he killed the imperial horse in front of Xuan De Tower.
The horse's head rolled and blood flowed all over the ground. A group of people stepped forward to "hang the horse's head for public display". Seeing Yang and Liu bowing and bidding farewell to the ministers with blood on their faces, and then hurried into the palace, all the officials were shocked and talked about it, and became more and more speculative... On the other hand, Zhao Jiu returned to the palace, but did not go to the harem to rest. Instead, he went to the stone pavilion in the backyard, and there with a grim face he opened the document handed by Ma Shen, and then read it carefully.
What was written in the document was actually very, very simple. Zhao Jiu had known it after taking a look at it twice before. There was nothing strange about it now... It was nothing more than that several Fujian scholars in Beijing were greatly encouraged after they had filed a petition to the emperor last time to resolve the problem of the foreign temple. Then they continued their efforts and carried forward the Song Dynasty's tradition of not kneeling in front of the emperor for speaking out, and once again impeached a very famous unfilial son in their Fujian province.
According to the documents, this unfilial son achieved success and fame at an early age, and held a high position in the government, but he never took care of his father and mother, and even expressed resentment towards his parents many times. He was extremely unfilial and should be removed from his position to set things right.
Ethics and filial piety have always been the topics that these scholars like to discuss. Countryside scholars have their own tradition of maintaining discipline, and this is also common. Moreover, impeaching high-ranking officials for being unfilial... as long as they are not retaliated against, then success or failure can bring fame, so there is no need to mention it.
But these are not the key points. The key point is that this unfilial son is called Hu Yin. He is the Minister of Works of the current dynasty, the last of the three heroes of the Imperial College in the past, and a close and trusted minister of Emperor Zhao.
In addition, Zhao Jiu had guessed from the beginning that the impeachment letter from the folk party in Fujian was probably true rather than false - Hu Yin's bad temper and stinky face made him look like an "unfilial son".
