In the following days, the situation in the court changed. The most puzzling thing was that Prime Minister Wang Fu was suddenly dismissed and demoted to Yingzhou, Lingnan.
However, Emperor Daojun once again appointed Cai Jing, who had previously ordered him to resign, and still called him the public minister as the Grand Master, taking charge of the three provinces of Shangshu, Zhongshu and Menxia.
Since then, Cai Jing has been in power five times, worshiped the prime minister four times, held the position of a very popular minister, and experienced many ups and downs. He can be called the first person in history.
However, Cai Jing was too old at this time and was too dim to do anything, but he did not want to be dominated by Wang Fu like last time, so he handed over political affairs to his fourth son Cai Sui to handle it on his behalf, thinking that he would make the decision.
Cai Sui, Sui Tongsui, was often called Cai Sui in later generations. This person's ranking among Cai Jing's descendants is controversial. One said he was the fourth son, and the other said he was the youngest. There is a confusion in the history of the Song Dynasty.
After he moved to Baizhou, he wrote a book called "Tiewei Shan Cong Tan", in which he recorded his age, saying that he was fourteen years old at the end of Daguan. So he should be around twenty-nine years old when he was in charge of Cai Jing's court affairs. It is still difficult to judge the ranking. Most of them are counted as four sons.
Cai Sui was actually quite talented. He was not a fool as later generations would say. He was one of the eight sons of the Cai family who was quite talented in literature. Moreover, this man was exiled to Baizhou in the first year of Jingkang and did not suffer the disaster of the Jurchens. He was also the best among Cai Jing's sons. The longest one died at almost seventy years old.
Although this person has literary talents, governing the country is complicated. Good literary talents may not necessarily lead to good governance, nor does it represent the quality of his character.
After Cai Jing came back to power, Cai Sui assisted him. Cai Sui did everything that required Cai Jing's approval and submitted memorials for Cai Jing.
Every time Cai Sui followed Cai Jing into the court, everyone from the minister down to the minister would greet him with arms raised, whispering in low voices, and dozens of people accompanying him, carrying case files in their arms and following behind with great momentum.
Since then, Cai Suan has been in power, and he has used his wife and brother Han Mulu as the Minister of Household Affairs. Gold, silk, and treasury were all plundered and enriched, and it was called the emperor's private property, but in fact it was his own pocket.
When Wang Fu was demoted, Emperor Daojun appointed Bai Shizhong as Shangshu Zuopushe and Dazai. However, Bai Shizhong and Shaozai Li Bangyan could only act on the basis of documents, and all power was monopolized by Cai Jing and Cai Sui's father and son.
Although Zhao Tong did not go to court, he was aware of all these matters, but he had no intention of paying attention to it. After all, it was not easy for him to get involved in such court affairs. On such matters, Daojun Emperor Qiangang was arbitrary, and he followed the advice when he first came to power. The flow is completely the opposite. Now I only rely on my preference and never listen to anyone's advice.
In the blink of an eye, autumn was getting deeper. On this day, Liu Qi suddenly returned. He entered the palace for a long time before leaving the imperial city. Then he went to the Military Department to report. When he saw Zhao Tan hesitating, he seemed to want to say something. Zhao Tan knew that he was going to sea to contact the Jurchens, and he knew it well. , fearing that Liu Qi would be embarrassed, he shook his head and told the other party not to talk anymore.
The Daojun Emperor's alliance on the sea is not dead, and the Jin Kingdom's Wanyan Wu is begging for the throne and is quelling internal power disputes. The second attack on the Liao Dynasty is obviously inevitable, but it will not happen at this moment. The speed of the Jurchen's iron hoof has already It has slowed down.
As long as the Western Army is able to recuperate and recuperate, it will not suffer such a disastrous defeat, with thousands of Liao troops defeating hundreds of thousands. , chasing him all the way.
A few days later, at the beginning of winter, Emperor Daojun ordered the Western Army to come over to guard the six generals of the Qinjun Division and the Dianqian Division, including Liu Guangshi, Liu Qi, Zhe Kecun and others, and all returned. If you are promoted to one level of salary, you will be a full official.
Yao Pingzhong had also returned early at this time, and had finished escorting the gold and silver treasures to Longyou, and also brought a secret letter from Liu Suiyun.
It was originally extremely difficult to transport things to Longyou, but on the one hand, no one dared to question him on the way to pursue the thief chief Fang La, and on the other hand, the Yao family, the general of Yao Ping Zhongnai, probably had to sell some face on the Northwest Sixth Road. , so everything goes smoothly.
The night before leaving, Yao Pingzhong quietly walked around to the back door of the palace in disguise and entered the palace.
The days are short in winter, and although it is not too late at this time, it is completely dark outside, there are few people on the streets, and there are only a few people in the palace, everyone is hiding in the house to keep warm.
In the central hall, the four doors were closed and heavily guarded. Su Shi and Zhou Chu were guarding the door. Other guards surrounded the hall at a short distance and no one was allowed to come forward.
There were not many lights in the hall, only Zhao Tong and Yao Pingzhong.
Zhao Tong was drinking tea. He drank a cup of tea for a long time without finishing it. Yao Pingzhong drank a cup of cow's tea. He didn't know how many cups he had. When he ran out, he went to get a kettle on the charcoal basin to refill it.
No one knew what the two of them said, but after a long time, Yao Pingzhong whispered: "Your Majesty, this...is not like this, is it?"
Zhao Tong said: "Does this king miss it?"
Yao Pingzhong chuckled and said, "My subordinates think, how could an official do such a heartless thing?"
Zhao Tong said calmly: "You are treasonous by talking about Jun father behind his back like this."
Yao Pingzhong scratched his head and said: "No one else heard it. Even if someone heard it and reported it, I won't admit it."
Zhao Tong said: "When you go back, you have to find a way to transfer to Xihe Road through the power of your family. I can't help you with this, but I will strengthen your authority in the court. Even if Tong Guan keeps seeing you, it will take more trouble."
Yao Pingzhong said: "The old man just blamed me for not giving him money. If he hadn't been under the command of the prince this time, I'm afraid he wouldn't have any military merit and would be deprived of it all by the old thief."
Zhao Tong thought for a moment and seemed to remember something, and then said: "Now Xihe Road Manager Liu Zhongwu has been in office for a long time and is very old. If you are to become an official, you will most likely be transferred from your father Yao Gu to be the commander-in-chief."
Yao Pingzhong said blankly: "Your Majesty, can this be counted?"
Zhao Tong smiled noncommittally. He just remembered that it seemed that after Liu Zhongwu became an official, Yao Gu took over Xihe, probably within the past two years.
"We'll see if we wait until the future. In short, you go to Xihe to run the business first. If you are transferred from your father in the future...then find a way to drive the Xin family out of Xihe!"
"Your Majesty, from my father's side..." Yao Pingzhong showed a slight hesitation.
"It doesn't matter, I know a little bit about my father." Zhao Tong said slowly: "He has always been nepotistic and likes to strive for credit. As long as he goes to Xihe Road, there is absolutely no room for the Xin family to be domineering there. If there are no direct henchmen, It will be better, but since you went there to run the business first, how could he do nothing?"
Yao Pingzhong couldn't help but laugh and said: "Your Majesty is right, my father is not like this."
Zhao Tong looked at him and said, "If it wasn't like this, how could your Yao family have been fighting with the Zhong family for so many years?"
Yao Pingzhong nodded in agreement, then picked up the tea bowl and poured it into his stomach, and said carefully: "My lord, if it is as you expected, once chaos breaks out, then my subordinates..."
Zhao Tong said calmly: "It depends on when the chaos will occur. If the chaos happens earlier, your father will have to lead his troops out. You can just take Xihe!"
"Ah..." Yao Pingzhong paused for a few breaths and said, "I obey!"
Zhao Tong narrowed his eyes and said: "If the chaos happens later, you don't need to take it. I will do it myself when the time comes."
Yao Pingzhong swallowed his saliva: "Your Majesty, there is something that I really can't understand. With Your Majesty's civility and military strategy, he is strategizing and winning a decisive victory thousands of miles away. It is not a matter of time before he regains Yanyun? Why do the officials still want it? So urgent..."
Zhao Tong was silent for a long time and shook his head: "Guan Jia, Guan Jia, this person, always only believes in himself..."
Winter is getting deeper day by day, with cold wind blowing and snow falling from time to time. However, as the New Year approaches, Tokyo begins to show a lively scene.
The houses of the high-ranking officials were decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, their doors and walls were decorated, pigs and sheep were killed, and ancestral halls were cleaned. In addition to worshiping their ancestors and relatives, they also worshiped various gods.
Even if the money is tight, ordinary people in the market have begun to buy new year's goods. No matter how much they have, they are always happy.
After the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, the Prince of Qin's Mansion began to set up a stage for opera performances. In addition to The Story of White Hair and Snowy Night Attack on Luzhou, Zhao Tong and Xiao Niang also arranged five or six new songs and plays together, all of which were premiered in the Prince's Mansion.
After the twenty-seventh day, more and more people began to give gifts in the palace. This year was different from previous years. In previous years, very few people came to the court, but in these few days, many court officials came to pay their respects.
Even Cai You came over and gave valuables. When Zhao Tan saw him in the middle hall, he saw that the eldest son of the Cai family was bone-thin and much more haggard than before.
Zhao Tong knew that he was being squeezed by Cai Sui, and now Cai Sui controlled the power of the prime minister in the name of Cai Jing. Not only was Cai You jealous and uncomfortable in his heart, the fourth brother also gave him little shoes from time to time to keep him in power.
After all, the two had been allies before, and Cai You couldn't help complaining. Zhao Tong could only persuade him, but Cai You said that he had collected a lot of evidence of Cai Jing's crimes over the years and wanted to wait for an opportunity to hand it over to the officials.
Zhao Tong was speechless. He didn't know what Cai You was thinking about telling him such a thing. It was partly true and partly false. He could only shake his head and say no.
On the morning of the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, all the children in the palace came to have dinner at the house, and Gao Chong also came over, bringing a lot of gifts.
Because the banquet was held at noon, they all went to the martial arts field to practice first. Zhao Gou was the tallest, rode a white horse, carried a carved bow on his back, and wielded a big sword in his hand, which was quite majestic.
Gao Chong was naturally dissatisfied and wanted to compete. He saw that the two sledgehammers under the weapon rack were good, each weighing one or two hundred kilograms, so he picked them up and mounted his war horse.
However, when he rushed forward and was about to hit Zhao Gou's sword, the horse screamed "suck, slip, slip" and knelt down on the ground. It turned out that it could not bear the weight, so the war horse carried two more sledgehammers. Just reluctantly, Gao Chong applied another force, more than a thousand pounds, which directly broke the horse's legs.
Zhao Gou laughed so hard that he was out of breath. He pointed at Gao Chong who looked embarrassed on the ground and said: "How can that hammer be easy to play with? It's not as heavy as a bone. I read what it said in the script and wanted to use this hammer." For heavy objects, it must be paired with a horse, it must be an eight-horse horse. It cannot be an ordinary good horse, otherwise how can it withstand the swing of such a heavy object!"
Gao Chong ran back angrily, saw Zhao Tong and said, "My lord, do you have a BMW?"
Zhao Tong touched his chin and thought to himself, "You are a gun user. What are you doing with a hammer?" He shook his head and said nothing.
Gao Chong rolled his eyes and said, "Your Majesty, I want to become a disciple!"
Zhao Tongqi asked: "You can't finish learning the martial arts passed down by your ancestors, who do you want to be your master?"
Gao Chong said: "I want to become my disciple and learn more advanced martial arts from the prince. That time, the prince said that there were flaws in my marksmanship. Even after he told me that I couldn't practice it, I want to learn from the prince's marksmanship!"
At this time, Zhao Gou ran over and said with a smile: "If you worship my second brother as your teacher, wouldn't it mean that you are a lifetime shorter than me? You have to call an uncle to listen!"
Gao Chong said disdainfully: "How dare you be so arrogant even though you have defeated a general!"
Zhao Gou stared immediately when he heard this. In the past, he had never won a match between the two of them. Now his lips were trembling, and he was so angry that he didn't know what to say.
Zhao Tong thought about it for a while, but he had never thought of accepting a disciple. However, seeing Gao Chong like it in his heart, he said: "You should ask your mother about this when you go back. If you agree, we can talk about it after the new year."
Gao Chong said: "My mother will definitely agree. As long as you agree, the prince, it will be settled."
Zhao Mo, the eleventh prince next to him, saw his arrogance and said angrily: "My second brother will not accept you. You only know how to dance with a gun and stick. My second brother is a scholar leader, how can I accept you and write all the poems?" The guy who won’t come out.”
Gao Chong curled his lips and said, "I really can't write it, but your writing isn't that good either. It's so obscure that you don't even know what you're talking about!"
Zhao Mo blushed and said, "My poems are all allusions. If you don't read, you won't be able to understand them!"
Gao Chong said: "It's not a good poem anyway!"
Zhao Mo rolled up his sleeves and was about to step forward to speak with his fists, but Zhao Gou held him back and whispered: "You can't even beat Brother Jiu, how can you beat this idiot? A good man won't suffer the loss in the moment. He'll eat later." Drunk him too much until he has no strength left, and we two brothers will beat him together!"
Zhao Tong then looked at the eighth prince Zhao Chu next to him. Zhao Chu had been taciturn since he entered the palace, and he had not said a few words.
Last year during the Mid-Autumn Festival, Emperor Daojun demoted Zhao Hui to a commoner. At first, he allowed him to live in the palace, but at the beginning of this summer, he was kicked out directly, leaving him to live among the people.
At that time, Zhao Yuanyuan was in Jiangnan and did not know about this. It was Empress Zheng who came forward to buy a house outside. His brothers and sisters pooled some money together, and they were able to live.
Zhao Yan used to have a lively temperament, but after this big change, he has gradually become a little dull, and he always looks worried.
Zhao Tong said, "Has Brother Bage been studying recently?"
Zhao Yan said "Ah", as if he had just come to his senses, and after a few breaths he said: "Second brother, I don't study anymore. I have been practicing martial arts recently. Brother Ninth taught me how to box."
Zhao Tong wondered: "I remember that you were good at reading, but you were a little late in practicing martial arts. You are no better than Brother Jiu, you have been honing your strength since you were a child."
Zhao Yan smiled bitterly and said: "Second brother, what's the use of my studying, and who can show it to me? It's better to practice martial arts and strengthen my body."
Zhao Tie looked at him for a moment, frowned, and then saw Zhao Fujin leading Zhao Huer from a distance.
Zhao Fujin was wrapped in a blue fur, which made him look like jade, while Zhao Huer was wrapped in a snow-white mink fur, which made her look like a small meat ball.
When the two came closer, they said that the plum blossoms were blooming well over there, which was more interesting than dancing with swords, and they invited everyone to watch together.
Zhao Gou stepped forward and said: "Second brother, you don't know, right? Daddy is choosing a husband for the fifth sister. I'm afraid it will be decided after the year, and the fifth sister will get married next year!"
Zhao Tong looked at Zhao Fujin and said with a smile: "I really don't know. I never thought that I would be getting married soon. When the time comes, my second brother will give you a dowry. I guarantee it will be no less than what I gave you in the palace."
Zhao Fujin's expression changed drastically and he said, "I don't want to get married!"
Zhao Tong said: "What's the matter? It's human nature for men to get married when they are older, and for women to get married when they are older."
Zhao Fujin said: "I won't marry, and I won't marry anyone." After saying that, he turned his face and led Zhao Huer back to Meiyuan.
Zhao Tong just thought she was shy, shook his head, and called to a few people: "Come over and enjoy the plum blossoms. I'm tired of playing with guns and practicing sticks all day long."
Ji Xiaolian said yes and followed Zhao Tong all the way to Meiyuan.
(End of chapter)
