Volume 5 Chapter 30 Huaizuo
July is not a good time to travel.
Especially going south.
For Emperor Zhao, July was particularly inappropriate, because if he left, this year's Mid-Autumn Festival sacrifices would be postponed with the Imperial College's Shangshe examination and the palace examination, and the birth of Concubine Wu's second child would also be postponed... None of the children had their biological father by their side before they were born.
However, as an official, when can I leave the capital without causing any trouble?
It's nothing more than a question of whether it's worth it.
This southern tour was the result of detailed discussions among the court officials and Zhao Jiu's own long reflections, and was a decision that was made only after... It was not a coincidence that several officials proposed the southern tour at the same time. It was because since they were going to march north, they had to take the emotions in the south seriously, whether it was to suppress them or to channel them. They had to make a trip before the northern expedition, and they couldn't let the north and the south continue to confront each other.
Otherwise, whenever the center encounters a problem, it will think that the South is holding it back, and whenever the South sees a move, it will think that the center is targeting them. The result is that there is no party shackles, but in fact a phenomenon similar to party shackles is formed, which in turn leads to the re-emergence of new, large-scale, and fierce party struggles.
From this perspective, as Emperor Zhao repeatedly cleaned up the court and implemented policies related to the Northern Expedition, the exclusion of minorities such as Ma Shen and Li Guang in the court became more and more obvious, to the extent that Emperor Zhao himself often avoided these two important ministers, which was essentially a manifestation of a similar phenomenon.
Of course, this is definitely not good, and Zhao Jiu also knows it is not good... But all those who understand also know that the "beginning" of this matter was not only in the court, but also in the south.
In addition, Zhao Jiu himself also hopes to go to the South to see for himself what the local social structure is like, to find out how heavy the burden on the southern people is, and what the anti-war sentiment in the South is from top to bottom.
Finally, is it possible to alleviate the burden on the people in the South slightly without affecting the fundamental plan of the Northern Expedition?
Therefore, whether it is to stabilize the country before resisting foreign aggression, to understand the people's sentiments, or to promote harmony between the north and the south of the country, we should always go.
However, even if you have made up your mind to go south, you still have to be well prepared...
In early July, the imperial court issued a series of decrees, first recognizing and commending the contributions of envoy Lu Yihao in the southeast, further increasing Lu Yihao's fiefdom, and according to the level of the fiefdom, conferring the title of Duke.
Then, he posthumously awarded Zhang Zai, a scholar of Guan School, the title of Meibo and had him worshipped in the Confucius Temple together with Wang Anshi.
Soon after, he revoked the posthumous award given to Sima Guang by Emperor Taishang Yuansheng during the Jingkang period and stripped Sima Guang of his title of Duke of Qin.
According to the original words of Emperor Zhao in the palace bulletin, Sima Junshi was a gentleman in his character and a role model in his scholarship, but he was a misleading minister to the country. It was precisely because of his lack of knowledge and ignorance in politics that he started the fierce party struggles and the origin of the Jingkang Rebellion.
In addition to publishing these three latest edicts, the court bulletin also specifically mentioned Emperor Zhao's "pardon" of Su Shi and other Yuanyou Party members in Baihe, Nanyang. Then, in a joint letter from the four ministers, the court clearly reiterated the basic attitude of the court towards the new and old parties... respect the new party, but do not convict and prosecute the Yuanyou old party.
All these combined are exactly the tone that Emperor Zhao conveyed to southern public opinion before his trip to the southeast - there is no malice, but don't expect to take advantage of the opportunity to turn the tables at a basic level, because some things will not be shaken.
After the decree, the accompanying personnel will be selected.
Not to mention the attendants Yang Yi Zhong and Liu Yan, the decision to bring 2,000 cavalry was made after a long period of hesitation. Although it was somewhat embarrassing to be on guard during a domestic inspection, if something really happened, or if Emperor Zhao himself was planning to do something, having a mobile force would make it easier to suppress and control it.
As for the commander of the cavalry, the court discussed it for a long time, but in the end, they did not dare to let the cavalry commander Qu Da go, nor did they let Li Shifu, whose subordinates were all foreign cavalry, lead the team. After much discussion, they finally chose Liu Qi, who came from a military family and had the demeanor of a Confucian general, to lead the army.
As for the rest of the close ministers who accompanied him, it was very simple.
There are two Hanlin scholars. One is Fan Zongyin, who is considered to be a leader in terms of seniority and reputation in the internal system group... Don't look at the fact that the Sanzhao scholar has only a face. When he was a subordinate in Yangzhou, Wang Anshi once complained about Han Qi that this person only has a face... The fact that he has a face speaks volumes; the other one is of course the Hanlin scholar Lu Benzhong, who is a true descendant of three generations of officials, and his hometown is also Huainan, so it will always be useful to bring him along.
In addition, the cabinet gate attendant Ren Baozhong, the Secretariat Secretary Mei Li, the attendant of the military statistics department Yu Yunwen, and the new secretary Lang Zongying also accompanied him.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs also had a guard named Shao Chengzhang who had long lived with the Empress Dowager Yuanyou in Yangzhou.
At the same time, in order to ensure smooth operation of Tokyo and not delay government affairs, one prime minister, four ministers , one chancellor, and six secretaries all stayed behind, without any important officials from outside the court accompanying them.
In a sense, it can be considered a light trip.
To put it another way, it even has the meaning of a lone hero going into the tiger's den.
Anyway, after a lot of trouble, in early July, after updating the latest chapter of "Water Margin", which tells the story of Chao Gai being shot to death by an arrow after going down the mountain, Emperor Zhao officially set off and headed southeast along the Grand Canal.
The first stop was Nanjing (now Shangqiu), which was about 200 miles away from Kaifeng and had always been a secondary capital alongside Luoyang, the Western Capital. However, like Luoyang, it also suffered a fatal large-scale military disaster. In the second year of Jianyan, two generals of the Eastern Route Army of the Jin Kingdom, Erlubu and Ali, led their troops southward and attacked here, causing Zhang Suo, a senior official of the Song Dynasty who was in charge of the eastern line, to die for his country, which then led to the collapse of the entire eastern defense line of the Dongjing Liushou Division.
On that occasion, the entire city suffered severe damage, and the countryside was looted many times by bandits and defeated soldiers.
Perhaps it is because of this that Zhao Guanjia, who traveled back and forth between western Beijing and Guanxi many times, did not have any special feelings except that the local accent gradually became familiar.
Therefore, the official just borrowed the old palace in Nanjing to rest for a day, and on the next day he performed a brief memorial ceremony for Zhang Suo before setting off immediately.
Of course, there are other considerations for such a rush - such as the more than 3,000 soldiers.
In fact, these 3,500 troops were absolutely nothing in this era. There were more than 100,000 troops along the Yellow River in the north, and the battle should have begun at this time. But the front line is the front line, and the rear is the rear. More than 3,000 troops will still bring a heavy burden to the local area. Therefore, Zhao Jiu basically marched in the way of marching. He brought all the ceremonial objects, but put them all away along the way. He just followed the military regulations and personally supported the troops. Then he traveled 40 to 50 miles a day, marching during the day and sleeping at night.
In this way, after passing Nanjing is the Lianghuai area, and Emperor Zhao is more familiar with the area north of the Huai River, so he also did not stay long... In late July, the weather gradually turned cooler and the climate was suitable... The imperial carriage passed by the Mingdao Palace in Bozhou without entering, and continued to go south along the Grand Canal, passing through Bozhou, Suzhou, and Sizhou in turn, and left the Grand Canal from Qingyang Town in Sizhou, turned to Sishui, and crossed the Huai River from Mopankou on the eighth day of August.
Moreover, long before crossing the Huai River, Sun Jin, the governor of Huainan East Route, had sent people to Huaibei early to request an imperial decree to come to Yangzhou to welcome the emperor. However, Emperor Zhao issued an order not to allow him to go to welcome the emperor on the grounds that the autumn harvest was in full swing and it would be difficult to cause disturbance. He only said that he would arrive in Yangzhou before the Mid-Autumn Festival.
You have to know that there is a reason why Sun Jin, the governor of Huainan East Route, was recommended by to succeed him, and that is that he is a gentleman... or to be more direct, an honest man who follows the rules of others.
His moral level and personal integrity are impeccable, and he writes first-class articles. He always conscientiously implements any instructions from his superiors, and he also considers any problems below in detail. He has some of the faults , but he is an honest man after all and would never cause trouble.
So, after receiving the imperial edict, he really stayed in Yangzhou and did not come out.
After all, the decree makes sense. In an agricultural society, the most important thing in the world is the autumn harvest. The officials are so high-sounding that it is difficult for honest people to refute it.
However, Yangzhou City is the largest town in the south of the Huai River and the north of the Yangtze River. It gathers the essence of the two Huai regions and is also the gateway from the southeast to the north... Don't forget that in the two Huai regions alone, there are nearly one million pieces of silk and satin paid as taxes every year. It is easy to imagine that even if those exiled nobles have long since rolled back and become the dregs of history, the wealthy merchants, monks, Taoists, and scholars in the city are still among the best in the world.
Moreover, the most crucial point is that they have never encountered real war... The Jurchens stopped at the Huai River, the military rebellion in the southeast was confined to the south of the Yangtze River, the Jingxiang rebellion never crossed the Dabie Mountains, and even the Fang La rebellion before never crossed the Yangtze River... So needless to say, apart from the peace and prosperity here, it is difficult for the mentality of the scholars and common people to break away from the rut of the old prosperity.
Therefore, seeing that Sun Jinsun Xiantai was as still as a mountain and acted like a fool, the local scholars, village elders, wealthy people, and even famous monks and Taoists began to get anxious.
Every day someone goes to Sun Jin for advice.
This said, although the emperor said that he would come to Yangzhou during the Mid-Autumn Festival, it is a full 270 or 280 miles from Mopankou to here, how can he make it in seven days? It is better to welcome him early, so that the emperor will not spend the Mid-Autumn Festival outside the city and have nowhere to set up a banquet.
That person said that the government came too hastily. Originally, people from all walks of life wanted to get together to do something fancy for the government on the canal, but now it was too late. It would be better to ask Sun Xiantai to stop them on the way, which would also make it easier for everyone to prepare.
Some people also said that the emperor was from the north, and the farthest he had traveled in his life was to Bagong Mountain. He had gone south through Huainan, so would he not be able to adapt to the local climate? It just so happened that I had a cook from Tokyo in my home. She was the one who made stuffing for steamed buns in the home of Grand Tutor Cai. She was separated when the Emperor Taishang Daojun fled to Zhenjiang. I might as well send her to make soup for the emperor.
Then someone else said that although the people of Yangzhou had seen the Empress Dowager and had also seen the fleeing Emperor Taishang Daojun once (he had fled to Zhenjiang before the Jing Kang period), they had never seen the emperor in power. Today, they heard that the emperor was coming to Yangzhou, and many young students wanted to show their talents in front of him, and many scholars and officials wanted to talk to him in person. Now that the weather is clear and cool, why not go to meet him early?
Moreover, the wilderness can also inspire everyone's poetic and Zen spirit.
I am afraid that when the official arrives in Yangzhou, he will stay for a while, meet with the elders, check the work, and then leave directly. Wouldn’t the local people have waited in vain?
In short, when Sun Jin stayed in Yangzhou City to do official business, the officials and staff below him would persuade him; when he returned home, his wife, concubines and children would also be asked to say these things; when he was annoyed, he would go to Daming Temple to have a vegetarian meal, and the monks there would also ask him in a shy manner, "Will the emperor stay in Daming Temple or in the empress dowager's old palace?"
Although Daming Temple has a weak foundation, it is an ancient temple with a history of six or seven hundred years, so it still has sufficient buildings.
However, Sun Jin was a gentleman that Zhao Ding liked, so he managed to hold back.
Moreover, during this period, under the watchful eyes of everyone, the column of more than 3,000 cavalry and infantry actually did not enter any city along the way, did not disturb any place, and moved steadily south along the official road beside the canal every day, set up camp on time at the designated place every night, and moved forward solemnly and orderly at a speed of forty to fifty miles a day, without any chaos.
In a trance, another rumor came that the reason the procession moved so quickly was because the emperor was not among them at all - the emperor had already gone out incognito with Concubine Pan, who was familiar with Yangzhou, to visit the local pros and cons privately, and the one in the procession was General Yang who pretended to be the emperor... Although white people knew that the emperor did not bring any concubine with him on this trip, and Yang Yi Zhong definitely did not have the courage to pretend to be Emperor Zhao, it still caused chaos everywhere.
For a time, those who collected autumn taxes became very cautious.
But no matter what, on August 14, an army of 500 to 600 cavalrymen entered Yangzhou first and took over the streets and the imperial palace. Then on August 15, in the morning, when the autumn heat had not yet disappeared, the army of 3,000 people appeared on time in the north of Yangzhou.
At this moment, everyone put away their messy thoughts. The literati and students of the provincial school brought their articles, the retired officials brought their suggestions and memorials, the wealthy businessmen brought their treasures, the monks and Taoists brought their mouths, the ladies and common people brought their eyes, and they all followed the honest gentleman Sun Xiantai to the north of the city to welcome him.
In a sense, almost all the people of Yangzhou came out to see what this Mr. Zhao looked like.
“Are you here?!”
"Here it comes ! Dragon Banner has seen it..."
"Anyone with a little common sense knows that this is not an ordinary dragon banner, but a Jinwu banner... But why can't we see the carriage frame? The "Laws and Regulations" do not mention only Jinwu banners... Let me look through the book again..."
"Don't turn over, they are already here, Sun Xiantai has also gone up!"
“…”
In front of the north gate of Yangzhou City, a group of scholars, merchants, monks and Taoists were almost caught off guard. They saw the dragon flag coming towards them in the wind just a moment ago, and the next moment the dragon flag came directly in front of them under the escort of cavalry and stopped directly on the official road north of the city...only seventy or eighty steps away from them.
Sun Jin, the leader, did not dare to neglect and went forward with Wei Yan, the governor of Yangzhou, and Liu Yan, the imperial commander who arrived yesterday, to greet them. As for the rest of the officials, civilians, monks and laymen in Yangzhou, including the envoy Lu Yihao who crossed the river to greet them, none of them were qualified to go forward at this time. Instead, they held their breath and prepared to kowtow to the official in the red robe when he came out.
However, as Sun Jin approached, not only was there no one in the red robe, but there was only a knight in golden armor and helmet who rode out of the queue that had just stopped, and laughed from a distance:
"Is it Sun Qing and Wei Qing? It's been five or six years since Sun Qing left Nanyang? Wei Qing just transferred out of the capital province a year ago."
When Sun Jin and Wei Yan heard the voice, they did not hesitate and hurried forward to salute the man in golden armor.
The man in golden armor on the horse dismounted upon seeing this, and helped the two men up with one hand each, and then laughed: "It is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the king and his subjects meet. Why should we be so polite to each other? Besides, I have already issued an order along the way, so there is no need to deliberately greet and pay homage... Just feel free to do as you please today."
Sun Jin was an honest man, so he stood up immediately. Wei Yan was also one of Zhao Ding's confidants, and he had a sincere temper, so he also stood up immediately. The two of them bowed slightly in front of Emperor Zhao and called him "Your Majesty".
Now, everyone knew for sure - the man in golden armor was Emperor Zhao. They also hurriedly saluted from a distance of several dozen steps, but some knelt down, some bowed, some cupped their hands in panic, and some were even stunned for a moment, just standing on tiptoe to look, it was completely chaotic.
After the two men paid their respects, Emperor Zhao laughed even louder and wanted to lead them into the city.
However, Sun Jin was dragged around and looked at the chaotic city gate. After hesitating for a moment, he turned around and said honestly, "Your Majesty, the people of Yangzhou have been waiting here for a long time, all wanting to see the emperor. Your Majesty is wearing armor, so they may not be able to see clearly..."
Zhao Jiu smiled and took off his helmet immediately, handing it to Liu Yan who was standing beside him, and then asked, "Is this feasible?"
Sun Jin wanted to say something else, but after hesitating for a moment, he finally nodded.
However, Zhao Jiu thought about it again, turned around and took the helmet back from Liu Yan, put it on again, then got on the horse, stroked the horse and smiled at the two local ministers: "The ancients said that with a hundred thousand strings of gold around his waist, he rode a crane to Yangzhou... This is the best description of the elegance of Huaizuo. Now that I have come to this famous capital, I should not lose morale... I will lead 3,000 troops and march into Yangzhou with armor on my back! Sun Qing, you lead the way!"
Sun Jin was an honest man after all. After hesitating for a moment and nodding repeatedly, he allowed the official to put on armor and hold a sharp weapon and enter this famous capital of Huaizuo.
At noon, Emperor Zhao rode his horse into the palace in Yangzhou, which was the former residence of Empress Dowager Yuanyou, and immediately issued an imperial decree, ordering all the monks and Taoists in Yangzhou to come and see him.
At this point, the scholars and people of Yangzhou, who had just come to their senses, began to talk again, wondering if the government was caring about ghosts and gods instead of the people?
But soon, the news reached all the officials, scholars, and elders in Yangzhou, and everyone suddenly realized what had happened - Emperor Zhao was actually going to offer sacrifices to the Yuetai Forest of Steles from afar, to comfort the soldiers and civilians who had died since the Jingkang period, and then have a cordial exchange with the local scholars and civilians.
This time, everyone was caught off guard again - the area to the left of the Huai River had not seen war for many years.
