Because the little emperor fell ill, Queen Mother Pan was worried and stayed up all night.
It was still dark the next day, so she had to work up her energy to attend court with Concubine Pang.
As soon as the two of them sat down, they saw the Governor of the Foreign Affairs Academy report:
"To the Queen Mother, the Xixia envoy reported yesterday that the Queen Mother and the deposed king Zhao Ji are currently visiting Xixia."
Although she had gotten the news in advance, Queen Pan still became nervous after receiving the exact news and asked hurriedly:
"What did the Xixia envoy say?"
She was not afraid that the Empress Dowager would come back to take her position, but she was worried that Xixia would make an issue of Zhao Ji.
The Governor of the Foreign Affairs Council replied:
"The envoys from Liao and Xia all said that they did not want to see our brothers from the Song Dynasty fighting against each other and mother and son fighting. The two countries are willing to negotiate a reconciliation and ask the court to pardon the crimes of the Empress Dowager and Zhao Ji."
Before he could finish speaking, someone couldn't help but cursed angrily:
"The thief chief has sinister intentions and wants to trap our Song Dynasty for being unfilial and unjust! It's hateful."
The imperial court had never convicted the Empress Dowager, but the Liao and Xia countries confused her with Zhao Ji, obviously trying to ruin the reputation of the Song Dynasty and plot against it.
But under the current situation, it is easy for people to think that the Song Dynasty could not accommodate the Empress Dowager, Queen Duan, mother and son, so they fled to Xixia. It would be difficult for the Song Dynasty to clear away the suspicion.
When Queen Mother Pan heard this, her face suddenly turned gloomy.
For her, the reputation of the Song Dynasty was secondary, and she was more worried about King Duan Zhao Ji.
If the Song Dynasty pardons Zhao Ji's crime of treason, he is likely to threaten his son's throne again.
Although Zhao Ji was deprived of the throne by the late emperor himself and demoted to a commoner, he had not yet had time to be formally convicted by the court.
Under the pressure of "Ren Xiao" and Liao Xia, ministers may not compromise.
Especially when the little emperor is often sick and cannot stabilize the hearts of the people in the court, it is easy to breed speculators.
What's more, Liao and Xia may also secretly help Zhao Ji.
This move hit Queen Mother Pan's seven inches.
Thinking of her sick son in the harem, she suddenly felt anxious and quickly looked towards where Cao Bin and Pan Renmei were.
However, what made her flustered was that Cao Bin's seat was empty. She hurriedly opened her lips and asked:
"Why isn't Marquis Zhongjing here?"
Wang Yanling left work and replied:
"Queen Mother, Zhongjing took sick leave and did not attend the court meeting today."
Queen Mother Pan was very depressed, and when she was about to ask more questions, Pan Renmei came out of the class and said:
"Queen Mother, this is Liao Xia's trick, don't ignore it."
After hearing her father's response, Queen Mother Pan relaxed a little, looked at the ministers and said:
"What the Grand Master said makes sense, what do you think?"
Suddenly someone from the Political Affairs Council came out to question:
"I dare to ask the Grand Master, if you ignore it, where will you leave the Grand Empress Dowager?"
"When the late emperor was dying, he still kept thinking about the empress dowager. You are betraying the divine grace!"
When Pan Renmei saw this little-known official talking to her like this, she immediately became furious and scolded:
"How dare you, who are you, to dare to talk nonsense about government affairs to me?"
"Now that the country of Xixia is in danger and the Liao people are newly defeated, I only need one elite army to force them, and Xixia will surely surrender!"
As he spoke, he held up the wat board and shouted loudly:
"You dare to slander me and ignore the safety of the Queen Mother. What are your intentions?"
He roared, full of tiger power, frightening the official to retreat repeatedly.
Seeing how powerful her biological father was, Queen Mother Pan immediately made up her mind. As long as she didn't pardon Zhao Ji, there was nothing she could do.
At this time, Sima Guang, a fellow magistrate of the Liyuan, walked out of the courtroom and said solemnly:
"Master, please don't be angry. We did not say that you did not care about the safety of the Empress Dowager."
"It's just that although Liao and Xia are exhausted, they are united together."
"Xixia has the support of the Liao people, can you guarantee that it will surrender?"
Without waiting for Pan Renmei to refute, Sima Guang looked around and continued:
"Everyone knows that the Song Dynasty is no longer able to use troops. Where did the elite troops of the Grand Master come from? How many will be sent? Where is the money and food?"
"Once we lose control and start a war with Xixia, the Liao Kingdom will definitely take advantage of it. When the Song Dynasty is attacked on both sides, how will it end?"
"The most critical point is that the Empress Dowager is still in Xixia. If the situation deteriorates and is humiliated by the other party, how can I, the Song Dynasty, lose my face? How can I explain it to the late emperor?"
In the minds of most courtiers, Liao Xia were arrogant and rude, willing to fight and dare to fight to the death, but they were not as delicate as the Song Dynasty.
Therefore, when thinking about the death of the enemy, the Song Dynasty has no confidence and does not even dare to test the opponent's bottom line.
Pan Renmei also had this mentality. He only thought about forcing Xixia to bow his head, but he never had the courage to compete with the other party to see who was not afraid of death.
At this time, Sima Guang was questioned a series of times, and it was difficult to argue.
Seeing this, an official from Pan Renmei's family couldn't help but leave the office and asked:
"Zhao Ji is a serious crime of treason committed by the late emperor. Is it possible that he can't stop it just because of the persecution of Liao and Xia? This will bring great disgrace to the Song Dynasty!"
Sima Guang shook his head and said:
"Liao Xia's mediation of disputes between our court is nothing more than an excuse. In my opinion, they just want to gain some financial benefits."
Upon hearing this, the Governor of the Foreign Affairs Academy nodded quickly and said:
"Sima Zhiyuan is right. Xixia also asked the court to give 100,000 pieces of money and silk to support the Empress Dowager..."
Hearing this, Sima Guang suddenly felt confident, nodded with a smile and said:
"That generation of barbarians is really greedy for small profits. It only costs 100,000 yuan, so just give it to him."
Zhang Dun, who had been listening, turned gloomy and could not help but yelled coldly:
"Sima Junshi, you traitor, don't talk nonsense."
"Don't say that Sansi has no money. Even if he had money, he wouldn't give it to Xixia."
"Then Liao Xia is so greedy that they will continue to use the Empress Dowager to coerce our government?"
“If we ask for money today, we will ask for land tomorrow, so why stop?”
Sima Guang's face turned livid after being scolded by Zhang Dun, and he said angrily:
"If Cao Bin hadn't provoked Liao Xia, why would there be today's disaster? You and other officials don't want to repent, how dare you open your eyes for him?"
As he spoke, he cupped his hands upward and said:
"Queen Mother, I want to participate in the impeachment of Cao Bin..."
Seeing Concubine Pang looking at him with sinister eyes, Sima Guang didn't take it seriously and just looked at Empress Pan.
Queen Mother Pan waved her hands wordlessly and said angrily:
"Well, the envoys from Liao and Xia have also taken this matter to task, so don't be too troublesome. You should tell us how to welcome the Empress Dowager back and arrest Zhao Ji, right?"
"The court has no money to give him, what should we do?"
Sima Guang said indifferently:
"Let's just pay the debt for now."
Queen Mother Pan hesitated and said:
"Will they say yes?"
Sima Guang said with confidence:
"Actually, Li Zhaoming's forced conquest was not necessarily instigated by King Duan, nor did the late emperor conduct a detailed investigation."
"The imperial court can pardon him in advance on the grounds that there is no real evidence, so that Liao Xia has no excuse to launch an attack. This will not damage the imperial court's prestige."
"This is a show of authority!"
"Then I will give him money and silk."
"Show me kindness!"
"With such kindness and power, I predict that Xixia will hand it over and send it back to the Queen Mother."
"The imperial court only spent one hundred thousand guan of money and silk."
When Queen Mother Pan heard this, Yubai's face suddenly darkened and she said:
"Is this your idea?"
At this time, Wang Yanling took a step forward, cupped his hands and said:
"The Queen Mother, it is most important to welcome the Queen Mother back as soon as possible. Please make a decision quickly!"
As he came out to speak, almost half of the courtiers bowed and said:
"The Queen Mother please make a decision quickly."
Kou Zhun wanted to refute, but in the end he did not move.
One hundred thousand guan is not much, so it would be a good thing if it can be exchanged for the Empress Dowager.
Seeing so many ministers asking for orders, Pan Renmei had no words to retort. Empress Dowager Pan just felt that it was difficult to get off the tiger, and her face was extremely ugly.
At this moment, a little palace maid came up and whispered in her ear:
"The Queen Mother, Marquis Zhongjing heard that the emperor was ill and asked to come to the palace for private treatment..."
When Concubine Pan heard this, her heart tightened at first, wondering where Cao Bin got the news, but then she felt relaxed.
Now that Cao Bin is here, let's see how Zhao Ji reverses the case?
What does it mean that this guy first pretended to be sick and then quietly entered the palace?
