A few days later, Zhao Kai and Gao Qiu returned to the court.
He didn't dare to go through the city gate during the day, but quietly entered during the second watch of the night.
He immediately entered the palace and did not leave the imperial city until midnight.
Zhao Tong listened to Zhu Xiaoyi's report in the study and thought in his mind that Zhao Kai might have to stop fighting this time. After all, the defeat had greatly damaged his reputation and it was difficult to find any way to make up for it.
He picked up the silver lamp and picked out the lantern flowers, looked at Zhu Xiaoyi and said, "Are there any legends on the market recently?"
Zhu Xiaoyi couldn't help but smile when he heard this: "Reporting to the prince, apart from the defeat of King Yun, the most talked about in the market are the two new plays. Nowadays, Ouyang Renzhi is known to everyone, and he mentions it every time, There was a lot of swearing and everyone yelled to be beaten.”
Zhao Tong nodded and said, "How is Ouyang Bei?"
Zhu Xiaoyi laughed so hard this time that the corners of his mouth picked up: "Your Majesty, Ouyang Bei is hiding in the theater right now and dare not go out. I heard that he was beaten with rotten vegetable leaves and splashed with swill when he went out a few days ago. Now there are people who specialize in Keep an eye on him outside, and shout loudly when you see him coming out, and the neighbors will come to attack him."
Zhao Tong also smiled and looked at Zhu Xiaoyi: "Remember not to imitate him. He is usually loose and loose. This is a punishment for him."
Zhu Xiaoyi said yes repeatedly, and Zhao Tong suddenly looked at him strangely and said, "Are you going to get married?"
Zhu Xiaoyi was stunned for a moment, feeling something bad in his heart, and said cautiously: "The little one... hasn't gotten married yet. If he does, how dare he not inform the prince, but the little one does have a sweetheart."
Zhao Tong frowned and said: "What a good match, hurry up and get married, or I will arrange a job for you to perform on stage next time!"
Zhu Xiaoyi immediately broke out in a cold sweat and said yes again and again, thinking that the prince's move was too harsh and there was no point in beating and scolding him, but it was so embarrassing that it was known all over Tokyo, like a rat crossing the street, but it was really shameless and miserable.
The next day, an order was issued in the palace for Zhao Tong to come to court in the morning three days later.
The atmosphere of the court meeting was gloomy. All the ministers were solemn and silent. There were no people to sing praises or even start the performance.
Zhao Tong glanced at Zhao Kai next to him, and saw that the third brother was skinny and had sunken eye sockets. If he hadn't known that he was leading troops to fight and fought hard, he would have thought it was due to excessive drinking and sex.
Emperor Daojun was silent for a long time, and then he spoke. He first said that Fan Tianhu's defeat was due to the wrong time and place, and even if he lost his troops and generals, it was not King Yun's fault at all.
Upon hearing this, all the ministers understood in their hearts that this was not only for Zhao Kai's development, but also to excuse his own family. After all, the battle was defeated, and the officials were not to blame.
So the officials began to go out to find various reasons for the defeat, and finally came to the conclusion that Tian Hu also suffered heavy losses, and in fact, both sides suffered.
Zhao Tong looked at all this with a cold eye, always feeling that something was not right with Emperor Daojun's behavior. It stands to reason that no matter how biased he was in favor of Zhao Kai, he would have to give some symbolic punishment for a defeat that was known to the whole world, but now Emperor Daojun was There seems to be no such intention.
Zhao Tong was confused, this kind of defeat could not be erased with a few words and flattery from the ministers.
While he was making calculations, he suddenly heard Emperor Daojun say from above: "Although King Yun's victory in conquering Tian Hu this time is unfavorable, it is not completely in vain!"
Zhao Tong was stunned when he heard this. What does this mean? He looked at the ministers and saw that they all looked as puzzled as him. Only Zhao Kai and Gao Qiu remained calm, as if they had known that Emperor Jun would say this.
Emperor Daojun paused for a few breaths and then continued: "On his way back, King Yun encountered bandits from Liangshan, Shandong, who came to surrender. He said that he was threatened by my court and was loyal. He was willing to surrender with all the troops in the village and be loyal. Serve the imperial court."
As soon as he said these words, Zhao Tong couldn't help but narrow his eyes. He couldn't believe that Zhao Kai met people from Liangshan on the way home. What's more, why did Liangshan send people north for nothing? This is clearly Emperor Daojun lying.
All the ministers were also confused at this moment, looking at each other with confusion in their hearts.
Zhao Tong frowned and thought to himself, if Zhao Kai hadn't met someone from Liangshan, where did he contact Liangshan?
This matter was not originally done by fake courtiers, but by Master Fan Lou and Li Shishi, and Daojun and Emperor contacted him, and then the recruitment came about.
During this period, Song Jiang sent money and Yan Qing helped, and Li Shishi dealt with it. Finally, Yan Qing met Emperor Daojun and told him about his loyalty. Emperor Daojun agreed, and then he sent people to recruit people.
But now that Yan Qing is under his command, who else above Liangshan can accomplish this?
Master Li always loved to be romantic, he once asked Yan Qing to take off her clothes, looked at her tattoos, and touched and teased her with her fingertips. If it were not for such a handsome, strong, and good man, Master Li would not be willing to work for Liangshan even if he had to pay for it.
The same is true for Daojun and Emperor. A vulgar person will be kicked out with just one glance, even if he wants to meet him. He is the kind of person who is proficient in playing, playing and singing, has a romantic character, and has a good appearance. This talent Say something.
Zhao Tie's mind was spinning, and various characters in Liangshan flashed through his mind. Finally, he raised his eyebrows and thought of one person.
Lehe, it is very likely that Song Jiang sent Lehe here!
Lehe was nicknamed Tiejiezi. He was born with talents. He was proficient in music, playing and singing. He was also good at talking and talking. After being recruited, Lehe was appreciated by Captain Wang. If he did not go to the battlefield, he would have a happy ending. .
When it came to the original recruitment plan in Liangshan, Lehe was also one of the few who participated. His status in Liangshan was not high, but being able to participate in this matter showed the strategy!
Zhao Tong thought of Lehe's hymn:
If you learn all kinds of music, you will know how to do things from start to finish, and when it comes to martial arts with guns and sticks, love is like sugar or honey.
Linglongxin is well-dressed, handsome and cheerful, and speaks clearly. People who can sing are called Iron Screamers. They are born with music and intelligence.
That is probably this person!
When Zhao Tong thought of this, his face couldn't help but become clouded. He already knew what Emperor Daojun was going to do.
Emperor Daojun seemed to be satisfied with the shock of the ministers above, and then slowly said: "The bandits in Liangshanshuibo are large and small, and there are many kinds of them. There are more than 70,000 people. Although there are some old and weak family members among them who cannot fight. But considering it as a powerful force, although King Yun was in trouble in conquering Tianhu, it was a great achievement to conquer Liangshan!"
All the ministers realized at this time, no matter whether it was Zhao Kai who got Liangshan's surrender, in short, no matter who got it, it was still a great achievement, and he was defeated at the hands of Tian Hu, the court lost all face, and the royal family lost face. Cun, this matter can finally be restored, so he praised loudly.
Emperor Daojun nodded above and said: "Since this matter is the result of King Yunli, then the matter of going to Liangshan to recruit peace should also be done by King Yun."
Zhao Kai took a step forward and walked out of the class: "My son is willing to share the worries of the official family and serve the court."
Emperor Daojun smiled and said: "That's very good. You and Gao Qiu must go together for this matter."
After hearing this, Gao Qiu also sent out his team to lead the edict, and then Emperor Daojun issued an edict. It was decided that in half a month the two of them would lead troops to Jizhou, Shandong to recruit Anshuibo Liangshan.
All the ministers praised him, and Emperor Daojun couldn't help but feel proud. Even Zhao Kai's uneasy expression when he first came to court became more relaxed, and a smile appeared on his face.
Zhao Tao looked at all this coldly. It seemed that Emperor Daojun was determined to pass the throne to Zhao Kai. Tens of thousands of forbidden troops died in the battle and returned defeated. This kind of thing can be wiped clean for him. , the meaning behind it is self-evident.
According to the normal development, the Jurchens suddenly invaded and trapped the soldiers in Tokyo. Emperor Daojun had no time to change the crown prince, so he could only pass the throne to Zhao Huan in a hurry. However, after the Jin soldiers trapped in Tokyo withdrew, Emperor Daojun felt that it was uncomfortable. , and tried to regain the throne, but failed.
But now that Wanyan Agu has been killed and the Maritime Alliance has been postponed, the time for the Jurchens to attack the Liao Kingdom will naturally be postponed. If there is enough time, it is impossible for Emperor Daojun to change Zhao Kai into a prince before the Jin soldiers invade!
Putting aside personal grudges and only objectively evaluating, Zhao Tong actually believed that Zhao Kai was somewhat better than Zhao Huan.
Judging from Zhao Huandeng's last series of tricks, no matter how incompetent Zhao Kai was, he could only do that if he did the worst, and he couldn't do anything more earth-shattering than Zhao Huan.
Zhao Huan almost always chooses the worst one, even if there are dozens of choices, and the one with the worst consequences, which is weird.
Although Zhao Kai suffered defeats in fights with him every time and looked like he was not very smart, it was because he had the opportunity to see ahead, so he could not just call Zhao Kai stupid.
Moreover, Zhao Kai was away from home, so he saw all kinds of things in the market, and he had some understanding of the military and people's livelihood.
And Zhao Heng was raised in the palace, playing with the flowers and birds in his courtyard all day long. What did he know about the pattern of the world and the major events of its rise and fall?
Of course, as a prince, he could care if he wanted to. The problem was that Zhao Huan never cared about this. He didn't have the people in his heart, only the chair.
And a person who covets the throne and does everything possible to ascend to the throne may not be worse than a person who is righteous but has no family, country, country, and people in his heart.
It's just... this is a comparison between the two of them. Even if Zhao Kai is stronger, it is only compared to Zhao Huan.
At least Zhao Tong didn't see a trace of Mingjun in any of his bodies.
No matter who is in the upper position, it will be difficult to stop the rolling iron hooves and sharp swords of the north.
However, in this court meeting, he confirmed that no matter how hard it was to change Emperor Daojun's mind, it was still a gain.
After returning home from the next court, Zhao Tong thought about it for a long time, then sent someone to find Yao Pingzhong in the army, and called Luo Jinshui.
Yao Pingzhong came to his house often after returning to Tokyo, not to discuss anything with him, but to see the yellow horse.
The yellow horse is now getting fatter and fatter. After eating and drinking, it doesn't look strong at all. Instead, it looks like a big-bellied grasshopper, but its eyes still like to look around, and they still don't want to see Yao Pingzhong.
After calling the two into the study for more than an hour, Yao Pingzhong looked solemn and complicated, while Luo Jinshui looked confused.
Zhao Tong told them something: to build a village outside Tokyo as the headquarters of the Ming Cult in Gyeonggi.
Yao Pingzhong was already on the pirate ship and could not get off. He knew that Zhao Tong had too many secrets, such as his entanglement with the third Uighur princess, Zhao Tong's personal martial arts was extremely strong, and Zhao Tong actually joined the Ming Cult and became the Right Envoy of Light.
What made him most helpless was that his own family had become the flag bearer of the Ming Cult. His name was on the list of believers at the Ming Cult. Even if it was a pseudonym, it was still him!
It is no longer clear. From the moment he saw Liyana Zha in Luzhou City, he, a general of the Western Army, boarded Zhao Tong's ship.
Originally, there was still room for recovery. After all, joining the Mingjiao was just a child's play at that time. If things were settled, he would return to the Western Army and not see anyone from the Mingjiao, and he would have less contact with Zhao Tong, so the matter would fade away. But now...
Although Yao Pingzhong looked solemn, he was just as confused and stupid as Luo Jinshui in his heart.
King Qin just vaguely revealed that the Central Plains Mingjiao might rebel?
This is not bad, this is not something that can be ignored, this is simply a thunderbolt.
Rebellion and conspiracy is the biggest crime, and it will implicate the nine tribes. If the Mingjiao rebels, it is not comparable to those copycats. Calculated by the number of people in the Mingjiao, it is a real rebellion, just like Tian Hu Wang Qing!
Moreover, he has also listened to a lot of Mingjiao scriptures. Mingjiao believes in Mingzun, that is the only god, and there is no such thing as surrender and solicitation.
If Mingjiao rebels, then who does it matter? Who is Zhao Tong? It can't be explained at all!
Everyone has secrets, and if they don’t leak them, they are good at it, but what if they leak them?
One and all were damaged, irreparable, and he was completely tied to King Qin's warship!
The generals of the Western Army never interfered with court affairs, let alone royal family affairs, but once they were tied to King Qin's warship, they would have no choice but to do so!
Yao Pingzhong was stupid, and then he was worried. There was no way to do it, it was all obvious truth, so just bite the bullet!
He glanced at Luo Jinshui next to him, and Luo Jinshui whispered: "General Yao..."
"Well!" Yao Pingzhong said calmly: "Don't say anything now. Come with me and find a place to talk in secret."
Luo Jinshui was so panicked that he thought more than Yao Pingzhong, because the Mingjiao believers in Tokyo were not only King Qin, Yao Pingzhong and him, but also brought back so many people from Luzhou.
These people did not recognize the King of Qin and Yao Pingzhong, but they recognized him. Although these people knew that the person above was the Right Envoy of Guangming. After all, Zhao Zhu had taught the Scriptures several times when he was in Luzhou, but they did not know the true identity of the Right Envoy of Guangming.
According to his previous courage, he would have been frightened when hearing such a big event, but Luzhou and his party had somewhat exercised their courage, and now they walked out of the house with Yao Pingzhong tremblingly.
Yao Pingzhong stood outside the house and thought for a moment. He had been living in the army and had not built a house in the city, but such secret matters must not be discussed outside. He knew that Liu Qi had a vacant house. Liu Qi was not here at the moment, so he happened to go there. there.
He led the way, followed by Luo Jinshui, heading straight to the east of the city...
Zhao Tong sat quietly in the study, neither reading nor writing. He continued to sit like this after the two left.
He didn't let anyone in the mansion handle the matter of buying Zhuangzi outside the city, nor did he let anyone from Suiyulou handle it. He only asked Yao Pingzhong and Luo Jinshui.
The matter of the Ming Cult is too big. If you want to cut it off, then you can kill whatever you need. Not a single believer brought back from Luzhou will be spared.
But if he wants to run it, then except for Huang Gu, Yao Pingzhong, and Luo Jinshui, he will not let anyone around him know. No matter the palace or Suiyu Tower, no one else can know about his secret management of Mingjiao.
Mingjiao affairs must be separated not only from the Wangfu and Suiyulou, but also from Fujian and Longyou. They must be managed independently without any involvement with the others!
(End of chapter)
