Volume 5 Chapter 39 Summer Rain (Part 2)
Ren Baozhong and Liu Hongdao's crying, and crying in the rain and mud, was obviously beyond Zhao Jiu's expectations... because he hadn't seen such an extremely inappropriate drama between the monarch and his ministers for many years. The last time was when he decided to meet Han Shizhong eight years ago during his exile, or when he entrusted his son to the care of others at Yiyou Gate before the battle of Yaoshan four or five years ago?
It really makes people dazed.
In addition to this, there is another point. That is, if Ren Baozhong has experienced a lot and has no bottom line, so he can act so well, but Liu Hongdao is, after all, a serious high-ranking scholar-official. How can he act so realistically and cooperate so well with Ren Baozhong?
He clearly just arrived in Hangzhou yesterday.
In other words, these two people may not be pretending... and even if they are pretending, can Emperor Zhao just stand there like this?
"You two, please stand up."
Zhao Jiu quickly came out from under the umbrella, walked quickly into the mud, and then, with the help of two squad leaders of the Red Heart Team, he helped the two of them up one by one, and consoled them earnestly. "Isn't it just that you turned around and found that your house had collapsed? Why did you two suffer from this? It was the side wing that was leaking before, and the front hall was also affected a little. The bedroom was only affected by a few tiles. If it weren't for Yang Yizhong and the others forcing me, I would have wanted to continue waiting in the bedroom."
It was said that the two men were obviously out of control and were helped to sit aside by Zhao Guanjia and Ban Zhi. They didn't hear a few words at all and it took them a long while to regain their ability to speak.
Among them, Ren Baozhong was obviously quicker. He wiped his face with his sleeves covered in mud and then sat on the stone steps in the back hall and said sadly: "I have just met a wise master at my age. I am loyal to you. I hope you can forgive me for my loss of composure."
This is what happens when you listen to too many jokes from the Three Kingdoms storytelling.
But in a sense, it is also the truth. Without Zhao Jiu, this old thief would probably have disappeared in the remote village of Hengshan as an old man who had failed in a coup. His body and spirit would have turned to dust and been forgotten. Who would have thought that he would come into contact with core power again at the end of his life, and core power at a higher level?
To put it bluntly, apart from Zhao Jiu who was thinking of launching a large-scale war against the Dangxiang people in the Northern Expedition, who would use an old Dangxiang dog like him?
"I really don't dare to think about what will happen to the country if something happens to the emperor?" In comparison, Liu Hongdao, who spoke later, was obviously much more sincere, but he was also in a state of panic under the umbrella, so he spoke without thinking. "What about the Northern Expedition? Will the North and the South confront each other like the Liao Dynasty? If so, the national hatred of Jingkang and the private shame of Qingzhou will make me feel depressed for the rest of my life!"
This is where the pros and cons are clearly pointed out.
The greatest hatred and shame in Liu Hongdao's life was the battle in Qingzhou where numerous people were killed and wounded and blood flowed like a river. He had no choice but to abandon his hometown and position and flee in embarrassment.
In the Song Dynasty, Han Shizhong was not the only one who hated Wanyan Wushu and Wanyan Talan to the core.
But no matter what, in the rainy night, in the midst of the chaos, Zhao Jiu understood their loss of composure, so he quickly said some nonsense: "I have always known the loyalty of the two nobles. Now you are fine, so relax."
With the help of the lanterns lit by the surrounding teams, the extremely embarrassed Ren Baozhong and Liu Hongdao looked at each other, but they both saw a tacit understanding in each other's eyes - they both obviously wanted to take the opportunity to ask Emperor Zhao why he hesitated about the Northern Expedition? They even wanted to take the opportunity to explain the pros and cons and persuade the emperor.
But at the same time, after this incident, both of them felt that it was a blessing for the official to be alive, as they could make long-term plans while he was still alive. Some things were not as urgent as they had thought before.
Just when the two of them had a tacit understanding, what they didn't expect was that Zhao Guanjia, who had turned around to watch the search and rescue, had already followed their actions and his thoughts gradually became distracted.
That being said, Zhao Jiu knew it very well, although the two of them behaved like this out of sincerity today, it was definitely not because of how he, Emperor Zhao, could win people over... After all, Liu Hongdao was actually a little unfamiliar with him, the emperor, and Ren Baozhong was a person of shallow virtue, so, the loss of composure just now could not have been caused by emotional factors at all... Roughly speaking, only three-tenths was a performance, three-tenths was the emotional fluctuations of surprise and joy, and the remaining three-tenths and above showed that the political ambitions, future ideals, and even the values of life of these two were actually tied to him, Emperor Zhao.
Specifically, it was connected with the Northern Expedition that Emperor Zhao had been preparing for a long time and was about to launch.
Both publicly and privately, we have formed a community of interests.
This community of interests also includes a prime minister who still possesses political influence, four incumbent ministers, two envoys, six ministers, ten military governors, eleven vice ministers, nine ministers, and four supervisors other than Liu Hongdao, as well as the public offices in Tokyo and the southeast, wealthy merchants in Lianghuai and Jingdong, and temples and monasteries in the Central Plains, Guanxi, and the southeast.
Of course, there is also Emperor Zhao himself and his close ministers who are directly affiliated with him, plus the imperial army which will grow to 300,000 in a few months.
It’s hard to say, there are still tens of millions of people in Lianghe.
Thinking of this, Zhao Jiu, whose body was finally wet from supporting and comforting the two, smiled bitterly with his back turned in the rainy night - there was nothing he could do about it, because if you counted carefully, this year was already the ninth year of Jianyan, and it had been almost eight years since the autumn of the first year of Jianyan.
During the past eight years, this time traveler has always emphasized the resistance against the Jin Dynasty in his capacity as an emperor. He has always encouraged the war against the Jin Dynasty and tried all the time to eliminate the appeasement factions in the court... From the surrender faction at the beginning, to the peace faction, to the defense faction, and now the slow-advance faction Li Gang, they were all respectfully invited out of the court by him. Then, may I ask who are the remaining people?
However, when the court gradually reached a consensus, the opposition gradually silenced, the people accepted this demand, the army was assembled and prepared, and the military supplies were finally almost ready, he, the instigator, became timid.
That's right, Zhao Jiu had long been aware of his "hesitation", and he also knew that the people around him were aware of his "hesitation", and he knew that these people were testing him, but to be honest, his "hesitation" was never about the turmoil in Fujian Road and the autumn harvest in Liangzhe Road.
Because the former is a grassroots problem that could not be solved at all in the feudal era. If you want to govern the grassroots well in those days, it is easier to think about how to make cannons and steam engines; and the latter, to put it bluntly, is a celestial phenomenon. Can he decide this celestial phenomenon?
As the saying goes, if it rains, the mother will get married. If the rain really causes a disaster, we can just wait for half a year before sending troops to provide disaster relief. That would be simpler.
So, what was Zhao Jiu's hesitation about the approaching Northern Expedition? In fact, it couldn't be simpler. There was only one answer, and it was the simplest and most direct answer - he was afraid of losing the battle, and he was also afraid of returning empty-handed.
Because this Northern Expedition was the result of eight years of hard work for him and was the ultimate test of his value in this era. He was no different from those people who cried and lost their composure and tied their life ambitions, future, and values to the Northern Expedition.
Others didn't know, but didn't he know it himself? Standing in the rain as if nothing had happened, he had never been a true emperor. For the past eight years, his fear, incompetence, confusion, anger, shame, and the current "hesitation" were all objective.
Even when the house collapsed just now, he was so scared that he jumped out of bed.
It’s just that he has been hiding it well and acting well.
"His Majesty."
In the rain, just as Zhao Jiu was staring at the Wuyue Old Palace in front of him, the slightly strange accent of the Red Heart Team Ping Qingsheng came from afar. "Master Lu has arrived, and the monks who followed him were stopped outside... The seven or eight wounded we found were also handed over to the monks."
Zhao Jiu nodded and was about to respond, but unexpectedly, Lu Benzhong, who was carried by Ping Qingsheng, came to the nearby fire. When he saw the face of Emperor Zhao, his reaction was the same as the previous two. He also plopped down in the mud and cried with his face covered.
Zhao Jiu was helpless when seeing this, and could only transform himself into Emperor Zhao again, imitate what he had done before, go forward to help the person, and then comfort him, and once again perform the drama between the emperor and his ministers.
Of course, at this time, Liu Hongdao and Ren Baozhong behind him gradually calmed down, but the difference was inevitably more apparent - Minister Liu was already a little embarrassed, but Sheren Ren was still wiping tears.
This was not the end yet. After a moment, Zong Ying and Guo Zhongxun came here one after another and also sat down on the ground with two plops... Even the imperial guards around them became embarrassed, but Ren Baozhong was still wiping his face. If you didn't know, you would think that he had water all over his face under the umbrella.
However, even so, Zhao Jiu still didn't dare to leave, because Lu Yihao in Hangzhou City had not had time to come over yet. He had to wait for this husband to come and report the message before he could leave.
Sure enough, after waiting for a while, they saw a fire dragon coming from Hangzhou City in the rain. Then Yang Yizhong, who had been waiting in the front hall, hurried back and announced: "Your Majesty, Prime Minister Lu is here!"
After saying that, Yang Yi Zhong hurriedly turned back to greet them, and Zhao Jiu wanted to go forward in the rain when he heard the voice, but unexpectedly, everyone behind him stood up and stopped him... The middle part of the palace collapsed, Zhao Jiu retreated to the back, and Lu Yihao came from the front. At this time, a true gentleman would not stand under a dangerous wall.
However, although there was a back hall and a pile of bricks and tiles between them, once Lu Yihao came up to him, he had a completely different aura from the others. He was full of energy and shouted in the rain, "Southeast Envoy Lu Yihao is here. Where is the emperor? I greet you. Please go back!"
As soon as this sound came out, the originally noisy scene immediately became quiet, with only the faint sounds of crows and rain remaining.
Zhao Jiu did not dare to neglect him and immediately said, "I am fine here... The temporary palace has become a dangerous wall. Prime Minister Lu does not need to come over. Go back to Hangzhou City to appease the people. I will also go to Shengguo Temple to rest."
"Your Majesty, I have received your order." As soon as the words fell, Lu Yihao's full voice rang out again. "I have a few more questions, please be frank...Are there any casualties this time?"
"It was dark, so it's hard to say, but we rescued several people, all of whom were slightly injured. More people were injured because the road was slippery on a rainy night, and all of you had hurried here from all over." Zhao Jiu answered simply.
Then, the other side asked: "Have any court documents, memorials, or secret letters been missed? Have any imperial seals or private pledges been lost?"
"The sleeping palace and the main hall are both fine. No documents, memorials, or secret letters are missing. All seals are there." Zhao Jiu also kept shouting.
Soon, the last words came from the other side: "In this case, please ask Liu Yan, the commander of the imperial guards, to escort the emperor to Shengguo Temple, and Yang Yizhong, the commander, to stay in the palace. I will return to Hangzhou to rest!"
As soon as these words were spoken, there was some commotion on the other side. It seemed that Lu Yihao had turned back directly. On this side, Emperor Zhao heard these words and immediately set off for Shengguo Temple, without even trying to listen.
Liu Hongdao and others hurriedly followed, but they could only be amazed at the straightforwardness of this monarch and his ministers.
Without further ado, let's just say that Emperor Zhao and his entourage arrived at Shengguo Temple, and the emperor went straight into the bedroom of the abbot, then took off his clothes and went to bed... There was nothing he could do about it, even if the emperor had no desire to sleep at all, he had to pretend to comfort people.
Relatively speaking, the other ministers, both civil and military officials, were much more serious - after experiencing such an exciting thing, rolling in the mud and water, and experiencing great sorrow and joy, how could anyone sleep? Regardless of civil and military officials or class, they hurriedly gathered in the Great Hall to "protect the emperor".
At this time, the topic of course inevitably involves Lu Yihao.
There is no way. This Prime Minister Lu is too eye-catching, not only in terms of his status, but more importantly in his style of doing things. His straightforwardness and competence just now really overwhelmed everyone else.
However, after a few compliments, the topic could not go on. Or perhaps, this Prime Minister Lu had a really bad reputation, and the related anecdotes were all about his tyranny and revenge, so as the conversation went on, it became a curiosity gathering.
"I heard someone say that when Prime Minister Lu was the deputy envoy of the Privy Council in Nanyang, a commander failed to perform the salute in time, and he was fined half of his salary that day."
"This is nothing. It was still in Nanyang. It was said that a clerk in the Privy Council did not do a good job in writing. He actually went down and slapped the clerk's headdress off. The clerk was aggrieved and said, 'Since ancient times, there has been no law for the prime minister to take off the clerk's headdress.' As a result, Prime Minister Lu replied on the spot: 'I started it.' As a result, the Privy Council was in order for a while, and no one dared to shirk their duties."
"What's that? Later, Prime Minister Lu was sent out as an envoy to pacify the southeast. Once, he was inspecting a prefecture and a certain prefect had an argument with him. He actually slapped the document in the man's face and yelled at him... If the prefect could slap the man in the face with a document, what's the big deal if the clerk's hat was slapped off?"
"The most famous one is the time when he quelled the military rebellion in the southeast, right? He replaced Prime Minister Li to go back to the southeast to pacify the situation. The rebellion had not yet been completely quelled. He once tried to persuade a certain commander to surrender, but the commander responded awkwardly. So he simply went straight into the rebel city with his dignity as a prime minister, went to the rebel camp, and ordered the commander to kneel down, take off his hat, and confess his crimes... As expected, the rebel commander did not dare to disobey and surrendered the city on the spot."
"I know about this, but there is more to it than that... After the rebel general surrendered, Prime Minister Lu directly asked why he surrendered without seeing the written document. The rebel general pointed to an officer and said that he was the one who made the suggestion. As a result, Prime Minister Lu directly ordered the rebel general to chop off the feet of the officer who made the suggestion and nail them to the bridge in front of the city... He wailed for several days before he died... The remnants of the army surrendered after seeing this incident."
“…”
“…”
"After all, the intention is good, and the result is good." After a long pause, Liu Hongdao, who has the highest status here, finally came to an awkward conclusion. "In fact, the incident of Prime Minister Lu calming down the rebellion is similar to the emperor's previous seizure of power in Yanling... This is roughly how the monarch and his subjects met and how they got to know each other."
"good……"
"Of course..."
Everyone responded quickly.
And for some reason, just as Liu Hongdao was trying to smooth over the matter and change the subject to get through the rest of the night, suddenly, a thought occurred to the left assistant minister of the Ministry of War, as if he had grasped something. After hesitating for a moment, he suddenly whispered:
"Prime Minister Lu's life experience is there. He was captured by the rebels before Jingkang and served as a captive in the Jin camp, which he felt deeply ashamed of... He is eager to fight the Northern Expedition, which is obviously no less than you and me! Moreover, he is so rough and eager. He is also the only prime minister in front of the emperor after Prime Minister Xu and Prime Minister Li went to Fujian. Given his situation, seeing that the emperor is hesitant, he should have advised and reported to the emperor, right?"
The incident happened suddenly, and there were many people who stayed behind in the Main Hall - even excluding the middle-level officers of the Imperial Guard, there were six or seven people who had seats at this time, including Lü Benzhong, Liu Yan, Ren Baozhong, Guo Zhongxun, Zong Ying, etc.
Therefore, everyone looked at each other, and no one dared to respond hastily to such a sensitive question.
However, after a moment, after exchanging glances and recalling the common misconduct of everyone before, these people gradually came to their senses. Everyone's position was consistent and obvious. In other words, even if there were people like Lu Benzhong whose position seemed a little off, they could only stay consistent with everyone in the face of this big situation... but still no one dared to respond.
However, there is no need to reply to these people.
"Then there is only one explanation." Liu Hongdao suddenly felt relieved. "Although the emperor has doubts, it is just because of the situation. He has no intention of stopping the Northern Expedition... On the contrary, we are so anxious, but we are not as anxious as the emperor, so we are panicked when faced with a major event."
Everyone still looked at each other, no one dared to answer, and no one dared to respond.
In the incense-burning bedroom, Zhao Jiu opened his eyes wide to look at the ceiling, listening to the sound of raindrops, and finally could not help turning over.
After this night's stimulation, the time traveler has thought it through - there is a saying that the world's situation is like a galloping horse, and people are like drivers who can only guide but not rein in.
At this point, where is the way out?
In other words, as long as you don't call for a stop, the galloping horse will have to move forward in the predetermined direction step by step.
The next morning, the rain was a little lighter, only dripping, and it looked like the sky would clear up gradually. Emperor Zhao and the civil and military officials in Shengguo Temple, who got up to eat at Xiangji Kitchen, knew this very well... If the sky cleared up at this point, it would be like the rain in early summer. The production would be reduced, but it could not be called a disaster.
And this rain in the north and south, and the unrest in Fujian, will most likely change the original "the South has been settled, and the troops and armor are sufficient" into the so-called "the South is slightly settled, and the troops and armor are slightly sufficient".
"Mr. Liu." Emperor Zhao ate very slowly, as if he was waiting for someone, or thinking about something. He waited until everyone had finished eating before he finished eating slowly. He did not stand up, but called Liu Hong directly. "Military supplies have been arranged. The plan cannot be changed at the last minute. I will give you supplies and manpower to repair the plank road in Hejian, Shanzhou."
"Yes." Liu Hongdao stood up quickly. Although his eyes were slightly red, he was still in good spirits. "I know the pros and cons."
"I'm glad you know."
Zhao Jiu looked at the sunlight gradually emerging outside the door, listened to the gradually increasing noisy sounds inside the temple, shook his head repeatedly, but suddenly raised his hand and tapped the chopping board in front of him where rice was served in the kitchen with his knuckles, muttering to himself.
"When I was young, I didn't know how difficult the world was. Looking north from the Central Plains, the atmosphere was as majestic as a mountain.
The tower ship crosses the Huai Dian in the snow at night, and the iron horses descend from Yao Mountain in the smoke of wind.
Guangwu’s restoration was just a boast, as the gray hair in the mirror has already turned white.
"He made a name for himself with his first performance. Who can be compared to him in the next thousand years?"
"Gentlemen." This poem is not good, it is too hasty, just like the current situation, so it has flaws. But when he said this, Zhao Jiu did not leave room for everyone to think, and turned around in the kitchen, and his emotion was clearly revealed in his words. "We are already 60% sure, but we are still hesitant. How courageous was Zhuge Wuhou that day? If it weren't for this time, how could anyone know how serious his determination was to go to Qishan for the sixth time?"
"I am old and I dare not compare myself to Zhuge Wuhou, but fortunately my body is still there and can still fill the ditches in Hebei!" At this moment, Lu Yihao, who had stopped outside the door before Emperor Zhao recited the poem, suddenly rushed into the kitchen before Yang Yizhong, and then responded before everyone else, paying homage with great ceremony and speaking generously. "To help the emperor achieve the cause of Guangwu's revival!"
Zhao Jiu nodded lightly, wiped his mouth, and stood up.
