Volume 5 Chapter 3 Persuasion
The grand court meeting that opened in November was a complete mess. It was jaw-dropping that one of the nine ministers of the Secret Council, and probably the one with the most actual power and responsibility among the nine ministers, was directly transformed from the presiding judge in the court to a co-conspirator in the case.
At this time, Emperor Zhao turned away in anger and left the capital to inspect the river defense.
In this regard, some people thought that the emperor deliberately avoided the trial of the case and the imperial concubine's plea in order to reduce unnecessary trouble, but others said that this was the emperor's hint to the Ministry of Justice to let go and deal with the matter strictly and quickly. Others were a little entangled in the issues of the Imperial City Bureau and takeaways... But no matter what, Emperor Zhao's attitude of leaving Beijing to inspect the river defense was uncompromising, and could even be called decisive.
He said it that day and left the next day without any discussion.
You have to know that it snowed intermittently in the past few days. Although there was no snow accumulation, it was a bit muddy and would freeze in the morning and evening, which made the road conditions quite bad... But Emperor Zhao still set off.
Not only that, the official did not bring many people with him on this trip. He only had a thousand soldiers and four or five attendants, and he set off directly.
There were one thousand soldiers, five hundred of whom were guards in front of the emperor and five hundred were cavalrymen in the Yuetai camp.
Among the attendants, the one with the highest status was Liu Hongdao, the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of War and the Chief Water Conservancy Officer. Below him were Hanlin Academician Fan Zongyin, Lü Benzhong who had just been promoted to Direct Academician, in addition to Ren Baozhong, the Cabinet Gate Attendant, and Yu Yunwen, the Recorder in Charge of the Military Statistics Department.
He really didn't care about anything and just left.
After leaving Yuetai, the group went northwest along the Bian River, but first arrived at Heyin, an important town on the river... This place is not only the location of the Biankou, but also the shipyard of the Imperial Camp Navy. It can only be said that it is not a big deal to start the inspection of the river defense from here.
Back to the present, when they arrived at Heyin, Zhang Rong, the commander of the Imperial Navy, came to greet them early. Emperor Zhao was as loyal as ever, and put aside his airs and went directly to the shipyard with him. After entering the yard, the emperor pretended to inspect the ship under construction, and then left the dry dock and went to the military camp.
I would like to add here that as early as the reign of Emperor Shenzong, the dry dock technology became famous throughout the world through the successful repair of a huge ship in Jinming Lake, and was then widely promoted.
As for the shipbuilding technology itself, whether it is seagoing ships or inland ships, the Song Dynasty is basically at the world's leading level. After all, in another time and space, the uprising of Zhong Xiang and Yang Mo lasted for five or six years. In the later period, even the Dongting Lake rebels could start to mass-produce ships of various sizes, which shows the maturity of the relevant technology.
So in the current situation, the Song army, which had burned Xiaowusha and controlled the river defense at the beginning, certainly had no reason to give up these excellent surface technologies.
However, according to military reports, after suffering several losses, the Jurchens, like they had previously supported the Qingzhou pirates, were recruiting relevant craftsmen in Hebei, with the vague intention of using the old Yellow River route to build their own shipyard and fleet.
Of course, this is not the time to discuss these things.
Emperor Zhao left the dock and moved into the military camp which was integrated with the shipyard. He had to have a temporary snack at noon, which was pork and sheep bought from Zhengzhou in the south. Everyone, from the regular soldiers in the imperial camp to the craftsmen and laborers in the shipyard, including Emperor Zhao himself, had a bowl of meat and half a cup of wine.
In the afternoon, the official personally went to see the winter cloth related to the imperial camp navy that had been issued last month. He walked around for a long time and examined it carefully for more than an hour. Then, taking advantage of the warm winter sun in the afternoon, he turned to the river, climbed up the levee in person, and inspected the levee, fortifications, and river conditions again.
All I can say is that after being an official for so long, he has mastered the art of pretending. If you don't know, you would think that Zhao Jiu really understands all this.
"General Zhang, I checked the documents of the Ministry of War and found that some intelligence reports vaguely mentioned that the Jurchens also have a dry dock in Daming Prefecture? And they also want to build ships?" The person asking the question was Liu Hongdao, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of War and the Chief Water Conservancy Officer.
Moreover, as an official with seniority, Liu Hongdao's position in Beijing was obviously inferior to that of other provincial governors, and there was even a suspicion that he was vacant. He himself was a little disappointed at the beginning, but he endured it just because he thought that he could enter the central government and have a secret cabinet status, and that it would be closer to his hometown which had just been recovered not long ago.
But this time following Emperor Zhao here, thinking about his two positions, how could Liu Hongdao not know that the Emperor obviously had some specific arrangements for him. The two responsibilities of Vice Minister of the Ministry of War and Conservancy Bureau combined might not be impossible to achieve success. It was even very likely that Emperor Zhao was making some overall arrangements for the future Northern Expedition.
Therefore, after leaving Yuetai, Minister Liu became more and more concerned about the matter. He took the initiative to handle many miscellaneous affairs along the way, which made the three eunuchs Fan Zongyin, Lu Benzhong and Ren Baozhong feel as if they had eaten something... Lu Benzhong was simply reduced to the role of reading the court reports to the emperor every day.
"That's true."
Zhang Rong was wearing a cotton robe bestowed by the emperor last month. Hearing this, he stood there with his hands behind his back, exhaling a stream of white air. "The Jurchens have learned a lesson. They put the dock behind Daming Prefecture, which is really difficult to deal with. However, if you ask me... if you ask me to be frank, it is a good thing that the Jurchens are working hard to build ships."
"Oh?" Liu Hongdao became more serious.
"That's the reason." Zhang Rong frowned and explained. "Liu Shilang thought, even if there are ships coming out from the north, how can we find such skilled naval fighters? The same archers can shoot accurately on land, but it's not the same on ships. And the operation of large and small ships, large ships often have dozens or hundreds of laborers on the wheels, how to dispatch them left and right, how to move in unison, how to move large and small ships, how to retreat and advance, all these are just sayings... The newly formed navy is definitely not our opponent!"
"What if the Jurchens have more ships? I am from Qingzhou, and I have heard since I was a child that when pirates fight at sea, no matter how experienced the sailors are, they cannot defeat an army with more or bigger ships..." Liu Hong said seriously.
"Minister Liu, please relax." Zhang Rongwen also answered swiftly. "What you said is absolutely right, but that was on the sea, and this is the Yellow River. The sea is boundless and the waves are strong. In such a place, if people don't have boats to rely on, where can they survive? Isn't it true that more boats are better than fewer boats, and bigger boats are better than smaller boats? But what about the Yellow River? Minister Liu, look at it with your own eyes, it's only this wide, and the old river mouth over there is not even this wide. In this situation, even if the Jurchens stockpile a bunch of steamships, I am confident that I can rely on the Imperial Camp Navy to defeat them on the river for the emperor."
Liu Hongdao woke up early when he saw the golden river surface, and the people around him nodded in agreement.
Zhao Jiu, on the other hand, also looked at the river surface sparkling in the afternoon sun, nodded, but continued to listen to the news in a serious manner: "Let's not talk about this matter, but what else? Does Commander Zhang have any other questions? I came out this time just to put aside the superficial and figure out some military issues from all aspects... Some things don't seem to affect the war at the moment, but what about one, two, three, five years? As long as Mr. Zhang has an idea in his mind, no matter what it is, just say it."
"To be honest with you, I... I do have some thoughts. For example, even though I'm used to it, I still feel that it's hard work for the people along the river to pound ice in winter." Zhang Rong listened carefully and hurriedly rolled up his sleeves to face him earnestly, but he probably felt that the posture was a bit awkward, and after a few words, he actually put it down again. "Hundreds or thousands of miles away, they have to pound ice, and usually every day. As a result, after pounding for many days, one day it gets cold and freezes overnight, and the Jurchens may come to harass them if they want."
“There’s nothing we can do about it.”
Before Zhao Jiu could speak, Liu Hongdao immediately responded. This time he was not showing off, because the winter ice-breaking has always been a regular winter corvée launched by the Dushuijian in the name of river management. "In my opinion, breaking ice and not breaking ice are completely different things... If we don't break ice, the ice will thicken day by day, and the Jurchens can make proper preparations in advance, and after proper preparations, they can directly send a large army to attack. If we break ice, the ice will suddenly become thick, and the Jurchens can only take the opportunity to harass. Moreover, if the ice is broken every day and can still freeze overnight, it can only be said that those days are extremely cold, and under such extreme cold, even if the Jurchens harass, their strength is not enough."
"Of course I understand this." Zhang Rong shook his head. "I just think that the people along the river have to bear more corvée labor for no reason. In the middle of winter, they can't even watch a few Cuju games compared to others. It's hard..."
"The people are indeed suffering, but right now, where in the north, south, east and west is not suffering?" Liu Hongdao was not impressed when he heard this, and even became a little excited. "The riverside needs to break ice, and the south also needs to increase taxes. Bashu simply prepaid taxes, which is almost equivalent to emptying the family's coffers, hurting the inside... And if we talk about corvée, there were also many corvées in the south when suppressing the rebellion before, and it has only been reduced since last year. Even if we don't talk about the south, but only talk about the north, the corvée in Guanxi is the heaviest, because the main battlefields of the wars in recent years are all in Guanxi! Doesn't General Zhang know that the government mobilized 100,000 corvées in Hedong before?!"
This came unexpectedly. Just when many people thought that Zhang Rong would be furious, this former bandit governor was not angry at all. Instead, he listened carefully and nodded seriously: "Minister Liu is right. I only look at the situation in front of me, but I didn't expect that other places are more difficult."
Zhao Jiu was silent for a moment, then asked again: "I remember the ice-breaking issue started after I returned to Tokyo. Has the problem always been there, or has it become more common? Is the problem the same across the lower reaches of the river?"
Zhang Rong was a little confused by the question. He lowered his head and thought for a long time before answering seriously: "Your Majesty's question is true... In recent years, more and more people have complained about their hardship. The complaints along the river around Tokyo are louder, while those above Luoyang and below Shaoxing are less."
"It's because the situation has calmed down a bit, and some people have forgotten the brutality ." Lu Benzhong finally interrupted.
Zhao Jiu sighed in his heart, but his face showed no extra reaction. He just nodded slightly:
"That's a little bit true, but it's also because Tokyo's economy has recovered and prices have risen, making the surrounding money and grain worthless. Especially in winter, the people along the river have to make ice every day, which delays the opportunity to go to the city to work as servants during the slack season. Naturally, they will complain... However, they still have to make ice. There's nothing we can do about it. Besides, once the Northern Expedition is successful, this matter will be resolved... Of course, speaking of this matter, I have some other thoughts."
As he spoke, Zhao Jiu glanced at Liu Yan, who understood. The imperial guards also took the initiative to line up with their swords, pushing back some of the local officials and low-ranking naval officers who were originally accompanying them.
Those who stayed near Emperor Zhao, including Liu Hongdao, stood up immediately. Zhang Rong was stunned for a moment, then looked at the reactions of the people around him, and quickly stood with his hands folded.
" What I mean is that we can make some preparations in advance. If it suddenly freezes over, we can do the opposite, cross the river and stab the Jurchens, and use offense as defense..." Zhao Jiu ordered solemnly. "We don't seek victory or spoils, we just want to scare the enemy and then return with our whole army."
Hearing this, many people including Liu Hongdao were stunned, but soon they came to their senses. Even Zhang Rong knew that Emperor Zhao's move was probably not for military spoils, but because Zhang Zongyan had just been defeated in a battle while crossing the river, and he wanted to do this to boost morale.
When they thought of this, everyone including Zhang and Liu agreed.
As expected, Emperor Zhao led a few people to discuss the matter on the riverbank again. In the end, Liu Hongdao, the assistant minister of the Ministry of War and the chief water conservancy officer, was given the power to coordinate the operation. He was to liaise with the troops in various parts of the imperial camp, coordinate the selection of battlefields, and even have the power to make specific military supplies reserves.
The matter was agreed upon like this, but what caught Zhang Rong off guard was that in the next few days, Emperor Zhao, who had obviously finished his river patrol, had no intention of moving at all, but just sat in Heyin, and actually stayed there until Yang Zheng in Tokyo sentenced him to immediate execution, and the documents of exile of the imperial concubine's uncle and the Dali Temple Secretary were delivered... This seemed to really confirm the statement that Emperor Zhao came out specifically to avoid trouble.
However, this view soon disappeared, because Emperor Zhao did not move after personally approving these judgments. In the middle of winter, this emperor was hiding in a military camp next to a shipyard with a few scattered ministers and a thousand soldiers?
He really stayed at home, not even going to Zhengzhou, which was dozens of miles away. The ministers tried to invite him back but he refused, which made many people panic...
After all, no matter what, no matter who was not given face in the three major cases, the emperor's trip to the northwest this time did destroy the Western Xia, subjugate the Khitan and Mongolia, and recover many prefectures and counties, right?
His power is increasing, right?
Who is the king and who is the minister never changes, right?
In this situation, who can sleep well when Emperor Zhao is hiding like a tiger by the river just over a hundred miles away from the capital?
And finally, following the official's inexplicable silence and waiting, the first person who couldn't hold on any longer finally appeared.
November 11 was a meaningless day. General Zhang Rong, who was originally on a routine inspection trip to Shaoxing downstream, could no longer endure it. He suddenly turned back that evening and took the initiative to ask for an audience with the emperor.
Although the official had already taken off his shoes and got on the kang, he still chose to summon him immediately.
"Your Majesty, I don't want to hide it from you, but I really can't bear the obligation of loyalty. But after thinking about it, if I don't tell you, it would be considered as a betrayal, and also a disloyalty..." Zhang Rong said some incredible words as soon as he came in.
Upon hearing this, Emperor Zhao, who was lying on the kang and listening to Lu Benzhong reading the court report, just waved his hand. The latter immediately understood, put down the court report, and went out with several soldiers.
At this time, Zhao Jiu sat up, but still did not say anything. He just patted the empty space on the kang where Lu Benzhong had just sat, signaling the leader Zhang who had just entered to sit over. He did not show much surprise throughout the whole process, as if he had guessed that the other party had come back.
"The emperor is just like what You Xuejiu said, he knew it a long time ago." Zhang Rong opened the door and waited for Lü Benzhong to leave. He instinctively took a few steps forward, but he realized his mistake halfway and stopped five or six steps in front of the kang, then intervened and sighed. "I am also ashamed, so I won't sit down. It's fine to stand."
"I know, but I don't know either." Zhao Jiu didn't embarrass him, and probably because he knew his personality, he was too honest. "Let me tell you the truth. I was mainly waiting for someone in Heyin, not just for you..."
Zhang Rong was slightly stunned.
"But when I arrived here on the first day, I knew that you, Chief Zhang, must be hiding something from me. Otherwise, with your heroic spirit, why would you be so restrained when you saw me, and why would you not even dare to put your hands on your waist when you went up the river bank? You must feel that you have made some mistakes!"
Zhao Jiu continued to smile, but as he spoke, he turned around and dragged a bamboo basket from the kang in the barracks. Under the light, he took out an unopened envelope from it and opened it in front of him. "So, these days, I did have people carefully check the Imperial Camp Navy, and I received a lot of relevant reports... The local officials around the Navy's several strongholds and the several commanders under you all have relevant documents... In addition, I also asked your son-in-law to lead people to privately investigate various places in the army, asking officers, soldiers, and Jinshi who followed the army, as well as surrounding military dependents and retired soldiers, from all sides... But I didn't read these messages directly one by one, but asked your son-in-law to read them first, and then asked him to summarize them for me, waiting for you to come to see me, and we will compare them... How about it, should Zhang Qing speak first, or should I speak first?"
Zhang Rong had already been stunned, but when he saw Emperor Zhao holding out his son-in-law's envelope, he was completely embarrassed and simply stepped in and bowed his head: "No wonder my son-in-law didn't talk to me. I scolded him for nothing and said he was useless... Never mind, I'll say it first! Emperor, my biggest mistake was to let the Vegetable Demon Cult spread among the navy of the Imperial Camp! But due to brotherhood, I didn't have the heart to clean them out! This is my biggest mistake, and it's also the hurdle that I can't get over when I see you these days!"
The Emperor Zhao, who had just been calm and composed, was stunned at this moment... Is it okay for the Liangshan heroes to be infected by the Ming Cult? Will their fighting power be off the charts?
However, this absurd thought only lasted for a moment. The next moment, the official hurriedly looked at Yu Yunwen's report under the light. As expected, in the summary report, he saw words like "First, the army is infected with the Ming Cult"... and he sighed on the spot.
Zhao Jiu had been in power for five or six years, and he had heard of the Vegetable Demon Sect, or the Vegetable Eating Demon Sect, or the Ming Sect, or the Manichaeism... whatever it was called... He had even learned a lot about it out of curiosity, but the problem was that the more he learned about it, the more complicated his feelings towards it became.
First of all, this thing has a long history. Over hundreds and thousands of years, the religious logic within it has been very complete, not much worse than those public sects. Therefore, it is the kind that cannot be cut off or eradicated... There are even some Taoist temples and Buddhist temples that appear to be Buddhist on the surface, but are actually Mingjiao inwardly.
In a word, it has great vitality.
Secondly, it has a very strong mass base. This thing emphasizes group self-help, just like the Monkey King of Dongting Lake. It has the flavor of grassroots insurance business. Maybe even, Dongting Lake is a variant of the Ming Cult... Anyway, as long as the common people need spiritual sustenance and grassroots economic mutual assistance, he will immediately emerge in large numbers.
However, it is precisely because of its strong mass base, or its ability to organize and mobilize the masses, that the third obvious characteristic of the Ming Cult emerges - a hotbed of riots and uprisings.
Let alone the two largest and most recent large-scale uprisings in the Song Dynasty, one was peasants and fishermen, one was peasants and urban handicraftsmen, one was Jingxiang, one was the southeast, one was Zhong Xiang, and one was Fang La... In fact, they were exactly the same, they all followed the same routine, it can only be said that Fang La was much more revolutionary than Zhong Xiang.
"I know that the court forbids the vegetarian demons." Zhang Rong saw that Zhao Guanjia's face changed on the spot, and he felt even more ashamed. "But when I found out, there were already hundreds of them, so I was a little embarrassed... In addition, they were just vegetarians, and they didn't delay their work on the ship, so I really couldn't bear to do it!"
"Let's just kick him out!" Zhao Jiu sighed, holding the letter.
“Don’t we need to kill them all?” Zhang Rong was slightly stunned.
"The surrendered soldiers from Dongting Lake were not executed. There are still villages and towns in the southeast that believe in this. How could they all be executed?" Zhao Jiu smiled bitterly. "Drive them out and don't allow them to be soldiers! Disband them and drive them away! Besides, this demon sect is just a banner, not the essence... Whether it's the demon sect or Buddhism, the reason why so many people believe in it is that they have no hope in their hearts. The demon sect is even more meaningful to the small families who live in poverty and lack clans. In the final analysis, the north was in chaos, and Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism don't have the ability to deal with everything. It's a bit similar to the ice-breaking incident we talked about that day... But no matter what, you can't stay in the army, especially in the imperial camp! I absolutely can't tolerate it!"
Zhang Rong didn't quite understand what was said, but he knew the government wouldn't kill anyone, so he felt relieved. He relaxed his hands, which had been on his waist. "I have an idea about this matter. Since the government is so kind and righteous, I will go back and clean them up, disperse them, and place them in villages along the river. I will never let them get together again, and I will never let them join the army again."
Zhao Jiu nodded, then shook his head again: "Although no one can be blamed for the Vegetable Eating Demon Cult, but then again, it is not without reason that you are the only one exposed here in the Imperial Camp... Zhang Qing, you are loyal to your subordinates, which is of course a good thing. If you don't say anything else, just say that the military pay and supplies can be put in the hands of the subordinates as much as possible, you can suppress most of the generals in the Imperial Camp. But talking about loyalty, the army is self-contained, and being too protective of the subordinates is also a problem. I have only read the first thing about the Vegetable Eating Demon Cult, but I can guess that there will definitely be rumors that the military scholars are excluded from the navy! Is there a rumor that the military scholars are not allowed to board the ship...?"
Having said that, without waiting for Zhang Rong to cross his hands and admit his fault again, Zhao Jiu looked down and became annoyed again, and then directly slammed Yu Yunwen's report summary on the table: "Zhang Qing, it says here that not only are the Jinshi who followed the army excluded, but your sense of loyalty has also become more problematic, that you are more concerned about the officers and old brothers, and less concerned about others, so that you don't embezzle military pay and military funds, but you don't take major actions when the officers below embezzle military pay and military funds... Is this how loyalty is used?"
Zhang Rong was extremely embarrassed. "I know that since I am in the Imperial Camp, I should abide by the law. But they said that other places in the Imperial Camp are the same, except that Brother Pengju's place is better... I... Your Majesty... No matter what, I was wrong and made things difficult for the Emperor again!"
"You are not embarrassing me!" Zhao Jiu shook his head. "I am the one who is embarrassing you... Back then, you were a hero of Liangshanpo, handling your own affairs. When the country was in danger, you led the entire army to fight against the Jin army, and then led the entire Liangshanpo to defend the Yellow River for me. These actions are truly righteous, and I will remember them in my heart... The Imperial Camp Navy has its own system, and everyone knows it. You can do this. What else can I say?"
"What do you mean?" Zhang Rong hurriedly took a half step forward and waved his hand. "Over the years, even if we don't count the ships in the dock outside, we have received millions of guan of money and food from the government every year. It's one thing to eat food and work, but even if we talk about loyalty, we should follow the government's rules after joining the government... There are some things that I really let down the government!"
"From this point of view, you haven't let me down. You are letting down the common people you have never seen." Zhao Jiu also waved his hands on the couch. "Zhang Qing, the food you eat and the salary you use are the taxes of the poor people you have never seen. I am just a big boss, and I just take them and pass them on! Just like when you were in Liangshanpo, the fishermen and the people around Dongping Prefecture gave you food and fish, and you were just a middleman, passing them on to your brothers who were responsible for charging and fighting... Back then in Liangshanpo, weren't you supported by the people of Liangshanpo? Could it be that you, Zhang Rong, used magic to create things and supported so many people?"
Zhang Rong was completely stunned.
"Speak to people in a way that suits them... The Jurchens are like tigers and wild wolves, so don't talk to them about morality, just show them your swords and fists. If you are tougher than them, they will naturally be softer than you!"
"It's like your son-in-law and other scholars who have passed the imperial examinations. They talk about the righteousness of the country and the principles of the monarch and his subjects. Then I tell them that the two rivers have not been recovered, and that I have national hatred and family grudges...they have no choice but to work for me."
"There are also those military officials from the Western Army. They want to be given titles, wives and children, and honor and dignitaries. Then I will give them the title of county king and governor... But there are two military officials who are different from the others. One is you and the other is Yue Fei. You two have different opinions."
"It's not loyalty, or rather, it's more than loyalty. Of course I know you are loyal, but not this time... When I entrusted my son to the care of four generals at Yiyou Gate, everyone present was surprised why it was you, a bandit, and not Zhang Jun... At that time, I valued your loyalty, but not this time!"
"I put you and Yue Fei together this time and told you these things because you two are the rare generals who understand the difficulties of the common people and are willing to think from their perspective! Qu Duan managed the people's livelihood in the northwest well, but he didn't consider the common people. He wanted to maintain order... Only with you and Yue Fei can I tell you about the common people. Only with you two can I dare to tell you about the common people."
At this point, Zhao Jiu was about to continue chattering, but seeing Zhang Rong standing there in a daze, he felt a little bored, so he simply stopped talking, then stood up, picked up the summary report from Yu Yunwen, walked over barefoot on the kang, and stuffed it directly into the arms of Zhang Rong, who was still in a daze:
"I won't read it anymore. Take it back to your You Xuejiu... no matter if it's You Xuejiu or Secretary You, ask him to tell you about it! If that doesn't work, then grab your son-in-law and ask him, the original author, to tell you about it!"
Zhang Rong took the item, and unlike other ministers, he did not act out some drama of gratitude between the monarch and his subjects. He just held the document written by his son-in-law, bowed to Emperor Zhao, and then walked out with his head down.
However, when he arrived at the camp gate, this Liangshan hero who almost saved the Song Dynasty in a dangerous time in history turned back and asked seriously:
"Official! As an official, do you understand the difficulties faced by ordinary people?"
Zhao Jiu was slightly stunned, and then his nose felt sore, but he held it back and just sneered: "When I was chased around by the Jurchens, I saw it a little bit..."
Zhang Rong nodded, and just as he was about to leave, he couldn't help but turned back and asked again: "Your Majesty, I had a narrow vision before, and only looked at the people of Liangshan Lake. I didn't think about the people in the south and Guanxi, and I didn't think about who paid for the money and grain... I was reprimanded by Minister Liu that day, and I was reprimanded by your Majesty today. I am convinced... But after being convinced, I still want to ask more questions. When will the difficulties of the people in the whole world be reduced?"
Zhao Jiu was stunned for a moment and did not reply.
"Did they destroy the Jurchens?" Zhang Rong couldn't help but ask.
"Things will definitely be much better if the Jurchens are destroyed." Zhao Jiu nodded.
"That's right." Zhang Rong also nodded, as if he relaxed a little, but finally turned around and walked out.
Zhang Rong went out without saying anything. Zhao Jiu stood barefoot on the ground, stunned for a long time, before he followed the soldiers outside and got back on the kang, then lay down with his head tilted back.
Moreover, the official knew clearly that this timely pressure had finally helped to regain control of Zhang Rong's semi-independent army. From the emperor's perspective, it was undoubtedly a great victory... After all, no matter what Manichaeism or taking care of old brothers, we must not forget one premise, that is, this army was originally a peasant army formed by Zhang Rong, with its own internal system, and this army still had more people with the surname Zhang.
As for the private interest calculations between him, the emperor, and Zhang Rong, it was not much different... Although he, Zhao Jiu, had the title of emperor and could hold up the banner of anti-Jin justice, but whether it was the victory at Shoutoutan or the later initiative to lead the entire army across Tokyo to guard the river for the country, Zhang Rong had done enough to repay Zhao Jiu.
However, having said that, Emperor Zhao, who had won a great victory today, lay on the kang, thinking about the fundamental reason for the rise of Manichaeism, the impact of the success or failure of the Northern Expedition, the finances and military expenses, the army expansion plan that was slightly invigorated in his mind, and the economic recovery around the capital that led to rising prices, so that the salaries of the surrounding soldiers were depreciated in disguise, the morale of the army was slightly depressed, and the people were slightly disappointed... but he still had mixed feelings.
Fortunately, when I thought about the empty cities I saw along the way from Nanyang to Tokyo that day, the broken limbs, flesh, and rotting bodies I saw from Yanling to Yaoshan and even at the foot of Yinshan Mountain before, I was able to suppress the chaotic thoughts that should have been suppressed many years ago.
The next day, Emperor Zhao slept until noon before getting up. When he heard that Zhang Rong had begun to expel officers and soldiers on a large scale from Heyin and seize property, he felt somewhat relieved. However, what made him feel completely better was another piece of news... That afternoon, a team of royal navy troops who were on a routine river patrol docked early and brought the person that Emperor Zhao had been waiting for for many days.
Wang Yan, the commander-in-chief of the imperial camp who crossed the river from Shanzhou, finally brought back Ma Kuo, the governor of the northern road.
