The autumn wind was rustling, the sun was setting, and in the Mingdao Palace in Bozhou, Huainan East Road of the Song Dynasty, there was an interweaving of light and shadow and the air was refreshing and warm.
Not only that, at this moment, in this huge complex that serves as a temple, garden, and palace, armored warriors and nobles in red and purple can be seen everywhere. It can be seen that countless civil and military officials of the Song Dynasty are here.
Among them, the highest hill at the rear hall is the most tightly guarded and well-ordered. From afar, the Jinwu flag, which already looks old but still represents the supreme authority, is fluttering in the wind.
Everything is exactly the same as it was ten years ago, and everything is completely different from it was ten years ago.
The itinerary had been posted long ago on the bulletin boards in various passages - it was very tight. Today was the deadline for the rendezvous, and tomorrow they had to burn incense, bathe, and meditate. Three days later, they would hold a sacrifice. After the sacrifice, they would only have one day of peace and quiet before another banquet would be held to discuss matters. The total trip was only six or seven days, so naturally, the civil and military officials had a lot of discussions.
Even important officials like Chen Gui, Liu Ji and Yan Xiaozhong were somewhat nervous.
Of course, as Prime Minister Lu Gong is old and virtuous, he can naturally rest early. While Hu Yin is not here, Prime Ministers Zhao Ding and Zhang Jun can still stroll leisurely in the garden as they did ten years ago. Even Minister Lin Jingmo can fill their places to make up the three of them.
The atmosphere is very harmonious.
"By the way, have you read the last chapter of 'Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons'?" Zhao Ding chatted casually as he walked.
"I saw it." Zhang Jun laughed out loud on the spot, ignoring the people around him. "Guanyin said that the eighty-one difficulties were not enough, which led to the introduction of the old turtle turning over, which had been hidden for dozens of chapters, and exposed the wordless scriptures... As a result, Tang Sanzang suddenly realized that the Buddha's seat still needed to be pacified, and there were still demons in the Buddhist country of India, but the Dragon King of the Tang Dynasty rained at the wrong time, and the emperor's plea was in vain. It can be said that the government was in order, the people were harmonious, and the laws were strict... It can be seen that Buddhism had already spread eastward, and India had already become an empty shell. The scriptures were in the East, and practice was at your feet... He became a Buddha as soon as he said it... It was really the work of Wu... Master Wu."
Zhao Ding also laughed and twirled his beard: "It is indeed the work of Master Wu."
Just like that, the two of them plus Lin Jingmo laughed together for a while, and after a while, they saw a stone table and stone bench under the shadow of a tree, and the three of them walked over together, but they didn't sit down, but just stayed beside it for a while, and then continued chatting... After this action, the people around who knew what was going on had already avoided it.
"Prince Jingsai wrote a letter to oppose this trip?"
Under the shadow of the trees, Prime Minister Zhao Ding seemed to be lost in thought.
"yes."
Zhang Jun stood with his hands behind his back, his face calm. "It is said that Mingdao Palace is unlucky for the emperor... The sacrificial offerings can be performed by the prime minister, and the promotion of grace can be performed in Tokyo... In short, the memorial conveyed by the Privy Council strongly advises the emperor not to come here."
Zhao Ding nodded, then shook his head again: "What does Xifu think?"
"How can I see it?"
Zhang Jun remained calm. "The emperor did fall into a well here, and Prince Yang also had some embarrassing experiences here... When he executed Kang Lu, I and Prime Minister Lu were standing by, so it's normal for me to feel a little bit uneasy. But..."
"only……?"
"But Prince Yang submitted his letter to the Privy Council instead of the secret letter. I don't know what his intention is."
"It's impossible not to follow the secret code."
"The secret letter was sent together with the Privy Council," Zhang Jun said seriously. "The reaction seems to be a bit excessive... Is there really some inside story that you and I don't know?"
"What does Minister Lin think?" Zhao Ding hesitated for a moment, then looked at Lin Jingmo who had been silent.
"I think that Prince Yang is nominally the commander-in-chief, but in reality he is the leader of the eunuchs. Whatever he says and how he says it will be taken care of by the government... We other officials don't need to think too much about it." Lin Jingmo answered without hesitation.
"I thought so."
Zhao Ding nodded and passed it over. "It's another matter, have you heard about it?"
"What?"
"The incident that Wanqi Yuanzhong caused... He said that he wanted to make a special exception for the Restoration and directly canonize Zong, Lü, Wang, and Zhang. Zong and Lü will be canonized into the Confucian Temple, and Wang and Zhang will be canonized. Then, they will be officially canonized during this sacrifice."
"Forgive me for speaking frankly, but this guy is probably trying to get rid of the Duke of Pei by dancing with a sword... He wants to lift these four up so that they don't have to compete with everyone else for the 18 positions... But he is a little too anxious, and his methods are too crude. How can a living person like Lu Gong be ranked with three deceased people? And what does Lu Xianggong in Yanjing say? They say that this northern expedition has hollowed him out, and he can hardly survive the next winter... Do you want to go in together? Into the temple or as a deity?"
"My foolish brother also thinks so. Scholars like us do not care about any titles or seek any gods. As for the Confucian Temple, it is not based on merit, but on knowledge. It is a matter of one thing and another... Let's talk about this in private today. If we really want to talk about the Confucian Temple, only Prime Minister Lu Gong will have a better chance of success in the future."
"What is it that Prime Minister Lu is not sure about?" Zhang Jun shook his head and smiled bitterly. "However, this matter is not Wanqi Yuanzhong's fault... When the eighteen kings came out, everyone was still talking about it, but now it's the turn of the civil officials to compete for these eighteen positions, but everyone thinks it's too little, and Wanqi Yuanzhong's contribution is really a bit far... It's not just Wanqi Xie who is jumping up and down on this matter."
"That's true."
"I think this may not be the case." Just as Zhao and Zhang were discussing this matter frankly, Lin Jingmo, who had been silent behind them, suddenly spoke, causing the two people in front to stop and look back.
"What does Minister Lin think?" Zhao Ding asked frankly.
"Wanqi Jinglüe's move is certainly a move by Xiang Zhuang to attack Pei Gong, but it is not, or is not just to seek to be listed in the eighteen honors." Lin Jingmo also stopped and answered fluently. "Because civil officials are not like military generals, they need to be re-ranked in battle after battle. In the past ten years, the eighteen honors must have been ranked by the emperor. It is not something that can be done by external forces, and Wanqi Jinglüe's methods are too clumsy... I would like to presume that Wanqi Jinglüe's move is because he expected that he would not be ranked in nine out of ten, so he used this opportunity to say that he was wronged and reminded the emperor not to forget him in exchange for real benefits!"
"Besides the honor, is there anything else you should not forget about him?"
Zhang Deyuan looked surprised, while Zhao Yuanzhen simply frowned.
"Yanjing." Lin Jingmo glanced at the two men and answered seriously. "Wasn't there a rumor about moving the capital a few months ago? Compared with the reputation after death, Wanqi Jinglüe probably wants to make further progress in his lifetime, right? If he can take advantage of this opportunity to transfer to Hebei, he will not be far away from becoming the prime minister."
Hearing this, Prime Minister Zhao Ding seemed to have expected it and was not moved at all. Zhang Jun, who had seemed surprised at first, became unexpectedly calm after hearing this, even a little too calm.
After a short pause, the prime minister and leader of the Wood Party turned around and looked at the prime minister, speaking calmly: "Brother Yuan Zhen, in my humble opinion, Yanjing is one thing, but it is also not one thing, because the emperor is back... With the emperor back, there will be someone who can make the decision, and with the emperor back, the country will be peaceful... If we don't want to move the capital, then we don't have to. But if we really want to move the capital, the emperor will definitely tell us directly, and then will we still oppose it? Even if we oppose it, with the emperor's current prestige, can it succeed? If the Northern Wei Dynasty really causes the incident of moving the capital, who will be embarrassed?"
After hearing this, Zhao Ding was silent for a while. After a while, he finally nodded slightly, then turned around and walked away into the shadows of the trees. Seeing this, Zhang Jun turned back to look at Lin Jingmo and continued to follow him calmly.
As the sun sets, there is actually no time for much discussion, and the next day the sacrificial ceremony officially begins.
As we all know, Emperor Zhao's behavior in some matters is actually very ridiculous.
He likes to make people look like gods and write some weird ghost stories himself, but he himself has no respect for ghosts and gods and sacrifices... It’s okay that he had scraped the golden bodies of Taoist ancestors and Buddhas in the past, but he was really helpless at that time... But let’s not talk about other things, just a few months ago, he went to Juhua Island, and as soon as he entered the door, he asked the abbot of the Dalonggong Temple, which had been built by imperial decree for 70 or 80 years, what "imperial construction" meant, and whether the water in the octagonal well can bring immortality, and how long a few fish can live if put in it. The old abbot in his forties was forced to cry, and it is not something that an ordinary official can do.
Back to the present, although Emperor Zhao kept saying that he was grateful to the Taoist for blessing him and that he had accomplished his ten years' hard work, so he came back to fulfill his old wish, but when it came to the real sacrifice, he was just perfunctory... He was very rude in bathing and changing clothes in the first three days, and even went to Wohe River to race horses and shoot ducks during that time. When the sacrifice officially started three days later, he just wore the old ceremonial dress passed down from his ancestors, and acted like a shopkeeper, letting Lu Haowen, Zhao Ding, Lu Benzhong, Yang Yizhong and others to toss around.
When it was really his turn, the official simply went up and lit a stick of incense on the altar outside the Xuanyuan Hall and in front of the golden statue of the Taoist Patriarch inside the Xuanyuan Hall, and that was the end of the matter.
I can only say that it’s fortunate that no handful of incense ash got stuck on the Taoist’s face.
After another day, the emperor actually issued an edict to hold a banquet in front of the altar in the courtyard of Xuanyuan Palace to discuss the matter... No one dared to speak out and accept the advice, but just followed the emperor's lead. There were even a few shameless people who quoted scriptures and insisted that this was the right thing to do.
But to be honest, the standard of the banquet was still very high. In addition to the necessary ministers close to the emperor, civil officials needed to have experience as senior officials in the Central Secret Council or as local governors, and military generals had to start as princes. It seemed that this banquet could really decide a lot of things.
And the government did not disappoint everyone's expectations.
It was a sunny day with a crisp autumn air. The banquet had just begun and before the wine had even finished, Emperor Zhao went straight to the point.
"My Lords."
Zhao Jiu, who was sitting on the high ground in front of the stage, raised his cup and drank, then smiled and spoke. "Laozi said: 'When the work is done, the people will all say: It's natural.' When Han Zhaolie was promoted to the King of Hanzhong, he also said: 'Then the work is done, the ministers will resign and correct their crimes, and have no regrets even if they die.' However, they are saints and famous kings, and we can't compare... Why do we come here to worship? Isn't it because in the autumn ten years ago, we made up our minds not to go to Yangzhou, but to grit our teeth and fight against the Jin? Now that the Jin Kingdom has been destroyed and the northern border has been pacified, it can be said that the work is done, so we came back to report to the old man Daozu... Now that the sacrifice is over, there are some things that we don't have to be humble about... Prime Minister Lu?"
"The old minister is here."
The person closest to Zhao Jiu immediately stood up from his seat.
"No need to get up."
Zhao Jiu poured himself another glass of wine and just raised the cup to indicate. "We can just drink and discuss heroes... The generals want to discuss military exploits, this thing has been settled... Let's talk about the merits of making decisions... Prime Minister Lu, who do you think is the first person to make the merits of making decisions in the ten years of Jianyan?"
The courtyard suddenly became quiet, with only the sounds of cicadas and the swaying autumn trees clearly audible.
Lu Haowen sat back in his original seat and said calmly, "I have heard that everything has a beginning. In the past, during the Jingkang Disaster, the world was in a state of despair. There were countless people who advocated peace and those who wanted to retreat. We were all at a loss. At that time, it was Li Gang, the prime minister, and Zong Zezong, the governor, who insisted on resisting the Jin Dynasty, one inside and one outside. Not only that, at that time, the emperor had just ascended the throne and was exiled. If it were not for Li Gang, the prime minister, who re-established the government in the imperial court, the court would have been difficult to restore; if it were not for Zong Zezong, who had not defended Tokyo, the Central Plains would have been in ruins and the country would have been hopeless... These two people are the red flags of the anti-Jin war and the backbone of the country... Their contributions are invaluable."
"You are right. Without Li and Zong's determination in making decisions, the country would have been gone long ago. How could there be those things later on... Zong Zhongwu is older and has already devoted his life to the cause until his death. So let's put Zong Zhongwu first and Li Gongxiang second." At this point, Zhao Jiu raised his glass and looked around. "My lords, let's make a big announcement for the two of you who are fighting against the Jin and Chi banners."
No one dared to be negligent, even Li Yanxian, who had hurriedly returned from Taiyuan and was wanted by Li Gang, raised his glass calmly - in fact, among the civil officials, on the surface, it is difficult to rank the best, but in reality, as Lin Jingmo said, everyone has a scale in his heart.
Moreover, the position of prime minister is special, so most people have an idea of ​​the candidates for the eighteen positions, except for the last few positions.
Sure enough, after Lü Haowen proposed Zong Ze and Li Gang, Zhao Ding proposed five more people: Lü Haowen, Lü Yihao, Wang Boyan, Yuwen Xuzhong, and Xu Jingheng.
These five people were the ones who had been in power since the Nanyang period. They were the ones who actually maintained the country's operations and the anti-Jin cause during the most difficult times in the early days... They were indispensable.
Zhang Jun then added the name of Zhang Suo, who died for his country.
When it was Liu Ji's turn to speak, the deputy prime minister of the current dynasty was a little unexpected. He bypassed himself and Chen Gui and proposed Zhao Ding, Zhang Jun, Hu Yin and Lin Jingmo together.
The reason was that these four men were the backbone of the anti-Jin army and the government's strongholds who had served the emperor since Mount Bagua.
Chen Gui took the opportunity to add Liu Ziyu who followed after Bagua Mountain.
Next, it was Lin Jingmo and Liu Ziyu's turn to speak. Naturally, the two of them reciprocated the favor and each pushed out Liu Ji and Chen Gui, two prime ministers of the Nanyang clique.
By this time, there were already fifteen people. No wonder even Wanqi Xie didn't dare to ask for such a position.
However, the last three people are inevitably more controversial.
Some people proposed Wang Shu, arguing that Wang Shu not only had a firm stance against the Jin army, but was also the military and political leader of Guanzhong before the imperial court took control of Guanzhong... Some people even directly pointed out that Qu Duan intimidated Wang Shu and that Wang Shu stood firm on his stance.
Fortunately, Qu Duan stayed in Yanyun, otherwise it would have been another embarrassment.
Some people also proposed Hu Hongxiu, believing that Hu Hongxiu had made extraordinary contributions to Western Xia.
Some people suggested Li Guang and Ma Shen, some suggested Liu Hongdao who was serving as an ambassador of appeasement in the northern border, and some even suggested Zhang Que who died in Huainan after the Battle of Bagua Mountain.
In the end, Zhang Jun, who came along the same path, couldn't help but interrupt and mentioned Wanqi Xie at an inappropriate time.
However, in response to these suggestions, Emperor Zhao just drank by himself and let the debate go on. At the end, he waved his hand and made a final decision: "What you said is all right... but if we put them all up, it will be too much... My meaning is that Wang Shu can be in the list. Otherwise, if Qu Duan is crowned as a king and he loses the election, wouldn't it be hard to convince people?"
Many people nodded. This is indeed a problem... It's not just the merits and qualifications of the civil officials that count. The military officials also have to be considered. Apart from Wang Shu, the most obvious example is that Lin Jingmo and Hu Yin are the 'guarantors' of Zhang Rong and Yue Fei respectively.
Of course, Wang Shu’s qualifications, position, and achievements are second only to the prime minister, and he is also the one with the least controversy.
"There must be a position for the censors." Zhao Jiu continued to drink a glass of wine, and then pointed to a person at the table. "If the Chief Censor is not vigilant at all times, the country may fall into the state of the whole army and lose its dignity... Li Zhongcheng is worthy of this job."
This time, Li Guang really did not object. Instead, he stood up and expressed his gratitude.
Ma Shen, on the other hand, knew that with Li Guang around, he might have no chance. Even though he claimed that he was not a man who lived in vain, he couldn't help feeling a little depressed at this moment.
As expected, Emperor Zhao glanced at Ma Shen and continued to pour a glass of wine, but paused again: "My lords, the achievements of the ten years of Jianyan that we are talking about today are the achievements of resisting the Jin Dynasty and succeeding the Song Dynasty. As for Zhang Que, Prime Minister Zhang, and even Zhang Shuye and Liu Qian who came before them, they are of course heroes, but there is no need to crowd them here."
Everyone nodded, which made sense.
"As for the remaining spot, I want to give it to Liu Hongdao." Zhao Jiu drank the glass of wine and finally made up his mind. "It's not that Hu Hongxiu's achievements are insufficient, but I want to use his extraordinary achievements in Xixia to let him take the lead, so that others will not be dissatisfied... And Hu Jinglie is still young after all, and our dynasty will need to use him more in border affairs in the future, so his future is indispensable... Ambassador Liu, starting from the great defeat in Qingzhou, has gone through untold hardships, defeated and won battles, and taken care of people's livelihood and logistics. In the past ten years, he has traveled across rivers and seas, north and south, and has always stood firm and made many contributions. He should also be given an explanation."
As soon as these words were spoken, all eighteen people were listed. Many of the bureaucrats present who had no position looked disappointed, but some also looked relieved... This matter had tormented them for a long time.
"These eighteen people are Zongze, Li Gang, Lü Haowen, Lü Yihao, Wang Boyan, Zhao Ding, Zhang Jun, Hu Yin, Yuwen Xuzhong, Xu Jingheng, Liu Ji, Chen Gui, Zhang Suo, Lin Jingmo, Liu Ziyu, Wang Shu, Li Guang, and Liu Hongdao." After Zhao Jiu finished reading them one by one, he gave a serious order. "Tell the Ministry of Rites to prepare. All the prime ministers will be granted the title of princes. The rest of the princes... don't refuse, this is what you deserve... The following commanders and other meritorious officials will also be granted the titles of duke, marquis, and earl... Then the thirty-six civil and military officials should have their biographies written and their portraits preserved, and then divided into two copies, one to be hung in the Secret Pavilion, and the other to be hung in the Shangshutai in Yanjing."
The scene suddenly came to a standstill.
"I know what you want to ask."
Just as Zhao Ding was about to stand up, Zhao Jiu waved his hand. "Yes, I have made up my mind to move the capital to Yanjing... There are three reasons. First, after ten years of war, the North has lost population and its economy is weak. If the central government cannot make an absolute gesture, it is afraid that it will not be able to revive the North from the root."
Everyone sat quietly with their hands clasped, not saying a word.
"Secondly, a blank sheet of paper is easy to paint on. This dynasty has many chronic diseases, which led to the Jingkang Incident . I want to succeed the old Song Dynasty and establish a new one, so I must find a way to get rid of the chaos of the old dynasty... The north was cleaned up especially well this time. Most of the people in Hebei are good families and self-employed farmers. There are no longer many generations of aristocratic families or landlords in the whole state... After I go to Yanjing, the surrounding area will be cleaner."
Some people wanted to say something but stopped themselves from speaking.
"The last reason is that Yanjing is the capital of Hebei. Just as the southeast is the source of the country's revenue, Hebei is also the focus of the country's military. If we don't firmly control Hebei, how can we ensure peace in the northern border?" Zhao Jiu looked around at everyone. "In the final analysis, have you ever thought about this, we spent ten years to win this war, and then what? Will the world be peaceful after that? What if the Mongols rise up? What if the Bohai people make trouble? What if the Jurchens are born?"
The atmosphere was completely frozen. No matter whether they were civil or military officials, whether it was Lu Haowen or Han Shizhong, they all sat upright and listened attentively.
Emperor Zhao seemed to be drunk, and his words gradually became emotional:
"What are you all thinking about? At this time ten years ago, right here, we were a bunch of stray dogs, wandering around in despair, on the verge of losing our country. If I wanted to change my mind and turn back to fight the war, I had to kill the chief guard of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and exile the prime minister... And today, we are showing off our achievements and celebrating, but we are just celebrating that we survived this national war. Will everything be at peace if we win the Song-Jin national war?
"Before, on Chrysanthemum Island, I issued an imperial decree... At that time, I could sense the thoughts of those northern border tribes. It's just that you are strong for a while, and I am cautious for a while. In the long run, who would take those things to heart? Even if it is me, do I expect to use a few imperial decrees to lay the foundation for eternity? It's just that I took advantage of this great victory to set a framework first, stabilize it first, and then withdraw from internal affairs... Once we become strong, everything will be in place!
"And how do we handle internal affairs? It still depends on you, the ministers and important officials, that is, the prime ministers, to lead the secret cabinet and the public cabinet to shoulder the responsibility of the country, and then I will take the lead to do the most important things that require my support, just like the past ten years...
"First, we need to repair the river, but it is not just about repairing the river. We need to use the river repair to gradually and imperceptibly accomplish the tasks of disarmament and relocation of the capital...
"We don't have to move all at once. There's no need. Prime Minister Lu is not in good health. When the time comes, the position of the Prime Minister can be given to a good minister. Hu Yin can be given the title of Deputy Prime Minister in the name of assisting in repairing the river, and we can all be in charge in Yanjing. We can take it slowly. If it takes three to five years, or ten to eight years, we can slowly move the secret cabinet to Yanjing or to my side. We can also publish a copy of the official reports in Hebei, and the new scholars can follow me in Hebei for inspection... When the river is repaired and everyone is used to it, we can officially move the capital...
"Three hundred thousand soldiers in the imperial camp are too many. Without the 200,000 households of the Jurchens, what's the point of keeping so many soldiers? Change some of the garrison troops, reduce the imperial camp to 200,000 first, 20,000 to 30,000 will be enough in Liaoyang outside the Great Wall, 50,000 in Yanjing, 10,000 to 20,000 in the Central Plains, 20,000 to 30,000 in Hedong, 20,000 to 30,000 in Guanxi, and 10,000 to 20,000 scattered in the southeast. The inland waters can be maintained at the Yellow River and the Yangtze River, and the navy can be added...
"If we reduce the number of soldiers, we can gradually reduce the taxes and levies in the south. Otherwise, I will never feel at ease...
"Repair the river, reduce the army, move the capital, and strengthen the control over the surrounding states. This is also to allow the country to recuperate. Then, we will see how strong our internal foundation will be in the future, and then tentatively think about how to turn the three imperial edicts from three empty documents into real officials... We should control them if we can, control them if we can, and make officials permanent if we can. We should spread Buddhism if we should, and promote Confucianism if we should, but we must do what we can. If we take too big a step, we will easily go astray!"
At this point, everyone was certain that the emperor was indeed drunk, but no one dared to take these words as drunken talk. On the contrary, whether it was Lü Haowen, who had long faded out of the limelight, or Han Shizhong, who had just been appointed as a formal vice-state-level leader and completed his transition from general to prime minister, all pricked up their ears and took them as seriously as they could.
Zhao Jiu poured himself another cup of wine, but found that the wine pot was empty. The eunuch Feng Yi, who had just returned to the emperor's side, hurriedly offered another pot, but was dismissed by Emperor Zhao with a hint of impatience:
“Compared with the Northern Frontier, it is the Western Liao that, once the country is a little more stable, can confidently demand the six states of Hexi and push the territory to Yumen Pass. Yelu Dashi will not refuse to give it, and dare not refuse to give it... Moreover, if my prediction is correct, in my lifetime, I will not only see Yelu Dashi roaming the Western Regions for thousands of miles, but also see the country gradually decline after his death... In the past, Emperor Wu of Han took the Western Regions and destroyed the Xiongnu. If there really comes a day, it is not impossible to take the Western Regions and sandwich the Northern Frontier and settle Qingtang... But this is far away.
"After we get Hexi, we can manage the Western Regions and gradually nourish the broken Qingtang. That place is too poor and the geography is too bad, but it can be used as a barrier and as an external line. After supporting them, if we can extend our reach to Jinchuan and Dali in the southwest, we may have a chance to do something real...
"Vietnam in the southeast depends on the development of maritime trade and a strong navy. There is really no need to think about annexation or exile. In my opinion, the most important thing for Vietnam is the business of rice. Regardless of whether to maintain the status quo or annex by force, we must first ensure that Vietnam's rice can be transported to the southeast through maritime trade...
“So, again, there are always opportunities, but all of this must be done in a step-by-step manner, in terms of geography, in terms of benefits, and within one’s means…If you can avoid resorting to heavy weapons, do so.
"There is only one place where I have made up my mind and will not hesitate to start a war, but it is not outside, but inside... In the south, annexation must be suppressed! We must emulate Hebei and the Central Plains. I dare not say that the rise and fall of the dynasty depends on this, but at least it is an important lesson of the Jingkang Incident, right? Fang La and Zhong Xiang have only been gone for a few days? Therefore, whoever dares to annex, whoever dares to dream of 100,000 acres of land, I will "annihilate" him just like I did to the Jurchen Wanyan clan!
"In short, internally, we need to move the capital and reduce the military, recuperate, curb annexation, encourage trade, especially maritime trade, and do our best to repair the river and promote the original learning; externally, we need to appropriately strengthen the control over the northern border, expand peacefully to the west, and try not to use the sword and sword... This is our national strategy for the next 20 years, or even 30 years... Anyway, this is the national strategy before I die, and I don't know how much I can do or how much I can achieve... Everyone, the grievances of the old Song Dynasty have been settled, and the journey of the new Song Dynasty is imminent. Does anyone still have any doubts?"
"Although I am old, I am willing to follow you on your journey again."
The officials had different reactions at first, but soon, under the leadership of Lü Haowen, Zhao Ding, Zhang Jun, Han Shizhong, Li Yanxian, and other civil and military officials did not dare to delay for a moment, and stood up one after another, waiting for Lü Haowen to speak before they all bowed in reverence.
He said that he was willing to follow the government on the expedition again.
In fact, no one dared to hesitate.
And up to this point, everyone knew that this was the real highlight of this Mingdao Palace sacrifice.
"Everyone, get up!"
Zhao Jiu burst out laughing on the spot, and when everyone sat back down, he sighed again. "Do any of you still think that I will be lazy about government from now on? Do any of you think that I am a bit too nosy? Do any of you think that I want to do too many things, and that it will be too hard to follow me in the future, so that you are afraid for a while?"
"So that the emperor knows that I was indeed scared just now."
Seeing that the atmosphere had completely calmed down, Wanqi Xie, the governor of the Jingdong Road, who was sitting at the bottom, took the opportunity to joke. "But when I think about how the government was able to lead us through the difficult and arduous past ten years... no matter how difficult the road ahead will be, what is there to fear?"
Zhao Jiu laughed again.
After laughing, the official turned around and looked at the Xuanyuan Palace behind him, but he seemed to be thinking about something: "Speaking of which, I drank too much and talked a lot. I was so busy talking that I almost forgot one thing. Fortunately, Wanqi Jinglüe reminded me..."
Everyone quickly put on a serious attitude, but after going through the previous twenty-year small goals, this seriousness seemed a bit for show.
"In fact, I was afraid before." Zhao Jiu answered seriously. "But there is no way. Since you are in this position, you should know that the road is ahead and you have to walk on it... If you don't walk on it, you will let down the people of the world... The same goes for you. Don't think that you can enjoy yourself just because you have made great achievements in the past ten years, or even go against the trend... We have experienced so much, don't we understand? The so-called heroes of the time are just ordinary people. Ordinary people grit their teeth and take a step forward to become heroes of the time, so don't be complacent because of your achievements."
"There are always officials in front."
Han Shizhong was alert and immediately expressed his position. "We will never let the emperor down."
"It's not that you have let me down. Besides, the emperor is the emperor, and Zhao Jiu is Zhao Jiu. The former is a position, and the latter is a person. But the position needs a person." Zhao Jiu looked at his most trusted military official and shook his head. "I said there is one more thing. I really don't mean to warn you, or even to encourage myself. It's just that there is a truth, a matter in my heart, like a thorn in my throat. If I don't say it today, I won't let you understand it, and I won't express my attitude myself. I always feel uncomfortable. But if I say it directly, I'm afraid that few people will remember it, and I myself will be a little numb..."
"Your Majesty, please speak frankly, and we, the officials, will all keep it in mind." Li Yanxian also stood up and bowed.
"Don't speak directly yet. Let me ask you a question first..." Zhao Jiu smiled again, but poured himself another glass of wine. "We have just decided on the eighteen meritorious officials for the ten years of Jianyan, and we have even ranked them... Then I would like to ask all the meritorious officials, in the victory of Jianyan, whose merit is greater, the combined merit of your thirty-six civil and military officials, or my merit?"
Li Yanxian and Han Shizhong were at a loss for words and instinctively looked at the gentlemen. In the slightly quiet front yard of Xuanyuan Palace, Lu Haowen hesitated for a moment and finally stood up.
"Excuse me, there is a saying since ancient times that grace comes from the superiors, I think that merit should also come from the superiors..." Lu Haowen was a little cautious in his words. "Of course the meritorious officials have made great contributions, but the emperor is the Son of Heaven, and has received the mandate from heaven. If the emperor had not taken the position, formulated the strategy, and guided the people to resist the Jin Dynasty, and appointed us at the same time, how could we have made any contributions? Most of the merits of the officials should be attributed to the emperor."
“That makes sense.”
Zhao Jiu nodded, but asked again seriously. "But if that's the case, then one hundred governors and hundreds of county officials combined are not as good as thirty-six meritorious officials? After all, if there were no thirty-six meritorious officials who made decisions and used military force as their leaders, how would the people below do their work?"
"Your Majesty, this is different."
Zhao Ding quickly stood up and took over the conversation. "The governors and county officials are also appointed by the government. They listen to the words of us, the prime ministers and marshals, but they also need to know the government's decisions and understand the government's rewards and punishments... and we, the ministers, are just using the government's strategies and authority to reward and punish."
"So, my contribution is still the greatest?" Zhao Jiu tried hard to smile.
"That's right." Zhao Ding tried his best to answer.
"I see." Zhao Jiu nodded and poured himself a glass of wine. "But I still don't understand... I was just sitting under the dragon banner and pointing the direction, Yaoshan and Huolu... It's nonsense to say that I didn't have any merits of leading by example. Thousands of troops swept across the country, tens of thousands of soldiers died in one battle, and hundreds of thousands of national heroes collapsed like a landslide. How could it be that I was the only one who achieved this merit?"
"So that the emperor knows that I am the emperor, the Son of Heaven, and I enjoy the four seas." Although he didn't know what the emperor was going to do, Zhang Jun had to stand up. "And the emperor is the master of all living things and the ancestor of prosperity and benefit... For some things, it is enough for the emperor to sit there."
"It seems to make sense." Zhao Jiu nodded, picked up the wine and drank it all, but shook his head again, and pointed to the Xuanyuan Hall behind him. "But if that's the case, what about the person behind you?"
Several gentlemen, including the two marshals, were stunned and did not react for a while.
"He was just sitting there..." Zhao Jiu continued, pointing to the back. "And he was sitting higher than me, closer to heaven and earth. Doesn't that mean that all our achievements over the past ten years should be attributed to him? And think about it, didn't we pay homage to him and thank him the day before yesterday?"
Everyone looked up in confusion, only then did they realize what the official was talking about.
Behind is the Xuanyuan Hall, where sits Li Er. Of course, Li Er is just a name, an incarnation of Daozu, who is Dao! He is the embodiment of the fundamental Dao of heaven and earth!
The government owns the four seas, but the four seas were all given by the Taoist ancestor.
The official is the Son of Heaven, but the Taoist himself contains the Heaven.
This is a truth that everyone knows, and from this point of view, what Emperor Zhao said seems to make sense...
But, so... everyone knows that it is just a wood sculpture coated with gold powder!
"Officials."
Just when the men were somewhat distracted, another man stood up tremblingly. It was Jingsai County Prince Yang Yizhong, who bowed his head earnestly. "Your Highness is the Emperor, and the Taoist is a deity. They don't interfere with each other, so don't worry about these things..."
"God! Emperor! Prime Minister! Marshal!" Zhao Jiu sighed, then stood up and looked back at another prince, Liu Yan. "Pingfu, please bring out the person sitting in the hall..."
Yang Yizhong raised his head, his face was pale; Lu Haowen, Zhao Ding and seven or eight civil officials in the room who were as quick-witted as Lin Jingmo, all raised their heads and stared at Emperor Zhao, as if they were thinking about something; Liu Yan, on the other hand, was a little confused like the others, but he didn't care much. After receiving the imperial edict, he immediately signaled.
Although the guards didn't know why the emperor was drunk, how could a wooden sculpture hesitate? If Daozu really blamed them, he couldn't blame them through the emperor, right?
So, a moment later, a huge wooden sculpture that had obviously been coated with gold powder not long ago and had received incense just yesterday was carried out and placed on the empty altar behind Emperor Zhao.
Zhao Jiu poured himself another glass of wine and drank it all in one gulp. He then stood up drunkenly and ordered a squad leader, "Go to the woodshed and get me an axe."
The people who were already slightly tipsy just felt a buzzing in their heads, and almost all of them were dumbfounded, and then became panicked.
But the one who reacted the most was Prince Jingsai.
"Officials!"
Yang Yizhong ignored everything and walked directly to the steps between Emperor Zhao and the wooden sculpture, then knelt sideways and kowtowed. "Now that things have come to this, why should the emperor care?"
"Zhengfu, I don't care. I just want to do an original science experiment in front of you gentlemen." Zhao Jiu laughed again. "If I don't do this experiment, I will feel uncomfortable... Think about it, it is us and the people of the world who have worked hard for ten years. How come according to your logic, in the end, it is just the credit of a woodcarver like him? This is unfair!"
Coming back to their senses, some tried to agree but immediately shut up, some had already turned pale, some had flushed faces, and some just looked at it with a sense of relief as if the boot had dropped.
But Yang Yizhong was the most nervous.
A moment later, the guard brought the axe for chopping wood. Yang Yizhong took it first, bowed again, and said sincerely:
"Your Majesty! If you insist on doing this, I am willing to do it for you!"
"I am willing to do it for you." Although Han Shizhong didn't quite understand, he immediately followed.
"No need... Zhengfu." Zhao Jiu shook his head and held out his hand. "I would rather be punished by God today than do it myself... And, can you really bear to see me dodge like this? Give it to me... Give it to me!"
Yang Yizhong hesitated for a moment, but finally handed over the axe anxiously, but he almost cried. At this moment, Zhang Jun also suddenly panicked, which attracted Han Shizhong, who was "failed to do the job" nearby, to come and look in surprise - the official was just drunk and chopped a wooden statue of a god, could he really be punished by heaven?
If this is the case, he should have been punished in Yan'an Prefecture thirty years ago for splashing water on Han Wu.
What's going on one by one?
However, Zhao Jiu did not allow many people to think wildly. He took the axe, gritted his teeth again, and finally walked forward under the influence of alcohol. When he reached the front of the statue, he sighed:
"Old man... it doesn't matter if you have a spirit or not... I have finally accomplished my mission today and now I am here to see you again... You can do whatever you want, I will do it anyway."
After expressing his feelings, Zhao Jiu stepped on the opponent's knee, swung the axe, half-raised his body, and chopped down hard at the forehead of the wooden sculpture of the Taoist ancestor.
The axe was struck with such force that it wedged itself into his forehead and could not be removed.
Zhao Jiu tried twice and simply gave up. He jumped down and stomped his feet hard on the ground. Then he looked up at the sky.
But there was no change in the sky. The autumn wind was still blowing and the sun was setting. The only one who caught up was Yang Yizhong, who was already sitting down beside him, sweating all over.
"Damn immortal emperor."
After a while, Zhao Jiu, who was also sweating, suddenly muttered something in a low voice. Although the voice was low, it was loud enough for all the important officials in the silent courtyard. Turning around, the official pointed at the wooden sculpture with an axe on its forehead and smiled at the people below. "My lords, this Taoist ancestor seems to be reasonable. He knows that the credit belongs to us mortals, so he didn't get angry... But you, don't learn from me, because I haven't achieved the right result yet, and I don't have such tolerance!"
After saying this, the official threw his head back and laughed loudly. He laughed for a long time, and tears came out of his eyes. Several people in the audience tried to laugh with him several times, but none of them could.
Finally, Zhao Jiu stopped laughing, and then, drunkenly, in front of the statue that had been hit on the forehead with an axe, he solemnly announced: "Everyone, I have just proved one thing, that is, the achievements we made in the past ten years to destroy the Jin Dynasty and succeed the Song Dynasty were not due to the grace of heaven... at least not mainly due to the grace of heaven... After all, the real driving force behind this great achievement was you, all the Song people in this world! The living, the dead, the people who came, and the people who didn't come! All of them!"
Lu Haowen was well prepared and should have taken the lead in responding again, but for some reason, perhaps because of his old age or because he had drunk a few glasses of wine, when he heard the official's drunken words, the prime minister suddenly felt a lump in his throat and was at a loss for a moment.
But Emperor Zhao didn't care. As soon as he said this, he turned around and signaled to Yang Yizhong: "Chop up this wooden sculpture and fill it into the well in the backyard, so as not to delay everyone's banquet! As for the ministers, return to your positions. Today, we will not talk about the future, nor will we care about the past. Let's just close the door and have a wild and unrestrained time to celebrate the victory!"
Everyone was shocked.
On that day, the sky was clear, the air was fresh, and the breeze was gentle. Emperor Jianyan got drunk in Mingdao Palace and returned to Tokyo three days later.
On the day of returning to Beijing, Hanlin scholar Lu Benzhong published a new poem "Lang Tao Sha" written by the official family on Chrysanthemum Island a month ago in his tabloid.
Words:
Heavy rain falls on Youyan,
White waves are surging,
Fishing boats outside Qinhuangdao.
There was no ocean at all.
Do you know who to go to?
Thousands of years have passed,
Wei Wu waved his whip,
There are some lost poems on the east side of Jieshi.
The bleak autumn wind is here again,
It's a different world.
【End of the book】