After the other ministers left the palace, Qinzong got off the throne, came to Li Gang, and said to Li Gang: "You are staying here to stay in Bianjing. How sure are you that Bianjing will not be lost?" Li Gang asked and replied. : "Reply to Your Majesty. As long as Your Majesty stays in the capital and the people, soldiers and civilians are encouraged, Bianjing will be impregnable. I ask Your Majesty to rest assured." Qinzong heard the report, nodded and said: "Very good! The defense of Bianjing is the top priority. There must not be any mistakes. I would like to ask you, where is the army of the King of Qin in the world now? How many days can he reach Bianjing?" Li Gang replied: "Go back to your Majesty. I have sent people to urge the Western Army and the Southern Army to rush to Bianjing quickly. It is reported that the Western Army has passed Mianchi and is on its way to Bianjing and will arrive within two days; however, the situation of the Southern Army is not yet known."
When Qinzong heard that the Western Army had passed Mianchi and arrived in Bianjing within two days, he was greatly relieved and said happily: "As long as the Western Army can arrive in time, I will be relieved; as for the Southern Army, it will arrive later. It's no big deal." Li Gang replied: "What the Holy One said is absolutely true. Zhong Shidao, Yao Pingzhong and other generals of the Western Army are all capable of recruiting people who are accustomed to fighting. The soldiers and horses of the Western Army have been living in the northwest for a long time and are responsible for the important task of strengthening the border. Many of them have In the war, the fighting force is strong, and resisting the Jin army should not be a problem." Qinzong then asked: "What is the situation of the Jin army now?" Li Gang bent down and said: "Return to the Holy Spirit. There are more than 60,000 Jin Army East Route Army. Under the leadership of Wanyan Zongwang, they have arrived at the northern suburbs of the border. The Jin Army's 120,000-strong West Route Army was blocked by Jinyang Guards Wang Zhen and others and was unable to go south. Your Majesty, after the Western Army arrived, the imperial army immediately took the initiative to attack , to expel the Jin invaders." Qinzong still asked worriedly: "The Jin Army's east route troops are approaching the northern suburbs of Bianjing. How will the imperial troops and horses respond to them?" Li Gang replied: "Liu Yanqing, the commander of the Bianjing city defense, will coordinate the Bianjing troops. Ma, we have sent the special assistant of Bianjing city defense, General Yan Qing, to lead his troops out of the city and arrange their troops to face the Jin army." Qinzong heard the report and asked in surprise: "General Yan Qing? Which General Yan Qing? When did I appoint him? Special Assistant to Bianjing City Defense?"
Qinzong knew nothing about Yan Qing's situation. When Li Gang saw this, he quickly knelt down on the ground. When Qinzong saw this, he was even more surprised and hurriedly said: "Please don't be too polite, please get down quickly and inform me of the situation." Li Gang got up, bowed to Qinzong and said, "Your Majesty, I will start my memorial." The Yan Qing mentioned is Yan Qing, the hero and prodigal son of Liangshan who was recruited by the imperial court." Qinzong said in surprise: "After the soldiers and horses of Liangshan were recruited, they went south to the south of the Yangtze River to conquer the local bandits. There were many casualties, and only one or two out of ten remained. , the imperial court has granted titles to all the remaining generals, and now they are serving as officials and generals in various places. How come I have never heard of who the prodigal Yan Qing is? What official position was he granted?"
Li Gang reported: "Your Majesty, the prodigal Yan Qing is the thirty-sixth-ranked hero in Liangshan. He is the star of Yingtian Qiaoxing, and his martial arts is quite good. When Fang La was conquered, General Yan Qing went deep into the Fang bandits. He cooperated with the army to capture Bangyuandong and captured the leader of the thieves, Fang Wa, which was indispensable. On the way to the triumphal return of the army, Yan Qing was unwilling to accept the title granted by the court because he was used to unbridled debauchery. He left without saying goodbye in the middle of the road without knowing where he was going. Therefore, he was not granted a title by the imperial court."
Seeing this, Qin Zong said, "Since he was unwilling to accept the title granted by the imperial court, he left without saying goodbye halfway and had no idea where he was going. How did he end up in Bianjing now? How did he become the special assistant for the defense of Bianjing?"
Qin Zong had been the prince for a long time, so he had no choice but to practice Buddhism. His hobbies were incompatible with those of Huizong Zhao Ji, and he did not care much about the affairs of the court. Qinzong Zhao Huan knew very little about the situation. Seeing this, Li Gang had no choice but to play in detail: "Your Majesty, Yan Qing and the Ming Concubine are sworn brothers. The Supreme Emperor once met Yan Qing and granted him the title of bodyguard to protect the Ming Concubine. Due to the invasion of the Jin army, Yan Qing was worried about the safety of Concubine Ming, so he followed her into seclusion to Bianjing and sneaked into Xinghua Tower to protect Concubine Ming. Zhang Shuye, the governor of Kaifeng, was also worried about Concubine Ming's safety and sent the Imperial Guard to guard Xinghua Tower. Wang Yuming, a lieutenant of the Royal Forest Army, discovered a strange man in the Xinghua Tower, so he entered the building to inquire. He was beaten out of the Xinghua Tower by General Yan because of his rude language and intimidation of Concubine Ming to play the piano and sing for him. Zhang Shuye, the governor of Kaifeng, was punished. , rushed to Xinghua Tower, only to find out that the strange man was General Yan, so he brought General Yan to the minister. The emperor told the emperor that the Jin army was approaching the city. It was the time when the court was recruiting people. The minister considered that General Yan had high martial arts skills and long-lasting experience. On the battlefield, he was loyal to the emperor and served the country, so he was appointed as the minister's special assistant to assist the city defense commander Liu Yanqing in the defense of Bianjing."
Qin Zong was overjoyed when he heard the memorial.
Li Gang paid homage to Qin Zong and said, "I did not report the situation in time. I hope that the Holy One will forgive me."
Qinzong smiled and said: "Very good! Very good! What is your crime? You have done a great job! You should be highly praised."
Li Gang bent down and replied: "Thank you, Your Majesty."
Qinzong's expression turned serious immediately.
When Li Gang saw this, his heart tightened and he quickly stood upright and looked at Qin Zong.
Qin Zong said: "Master Li was originally a misty woman. The Emperor had a wild and unrestrained nature, so he granted her the title of Ming Fei. As a result, the imperial court was corrupted, which led to the current crisis. What contribution did she have? Instead, she was protected! I originally wanted to withdraw. She was expelled from the capital, and because of the dignity of the Supreme Emperor, she was not held accountable. Let me ask you, what is Master Li's situation now?"
"Your Majesty!" Li Gang replied: "According to what Master Zhang, the shepherd of Kaifeng Mansion, told me, he originally wanted to take Concubine Li Ming to Kaifeng Mansion for protection. Because Concubine Li Ming wanted to wait in Xinghua Tower for the return of Emperor Bozhou from offering incense and refused to move to Kaifeng. Mansion, Lord Zhang then ordered the Royal Forest Army to be stationed in Kaifeng Mansion. Wang Jiang led more than 500 soldiers and stationed at Xinghua Tower to protect Concubine Li Ming."
Qinzong snorted and said: "The elite soldiers and generals who were originally supposed to be used for the defense of the capital went to defend Li Shishi. What a shame! I know that Zhang Shuye, the shepherd of Kaifeng Prefecture, is a loyal and good man, especially loyal to the Supreme Emperor. The loyalty of the ministers should be commended. Since Zhang Shuye sent people to protect him, let the protection go. You just need to do a good job in the defense of Bianjing to ensure the safety of Bianjing."
Li Gang bent down and replied: "I will obey the imperial edict."
Regarding the royal family affairs, Li Gang knew that it was not easy for ministers to participate and say too much, so he looked at Qin Zong and bowed again, and said: "I'm going to report to you, Your Majesty, and I will retire here."
Qinzong waved his hand and said: "Please don't rush to leave. I have something important to tell you." Qinzong said, returned to the dragon chair, picked up Chen Dong's letter, looked at Li Gang and said: " Imperial student Chen Dong submitted a letter, do you know what the reason is?"
Before Chen Dong submitted the letter, he went to Li Gang's residence in Bianjing and asked Li Gang to remonstrate and impeach Cai Jing and others. Because the defense of Bianjing was the top priority, Li Gang could not do it alone, so he asked Chen Dong to write to Qinzong directly. Therefore, Li Gang naturally knew the reason for Chen Dong's letter. However, considering that Emperor Qinzong said that Chen Dong’s letter was about the defense of Bianjing, it was hard for Li Gang to say that he knew the reason for Chen Dong’s letter, so he bent down and replied: “Replying to your Majesty, I don’t know that Chen Dong, the imperial student, The reason for writing this letter is very important."
Qinzong waved the letter in his hand and said: "I am telling you that Chen Dong, a student of the Imperial College, is writing to ask me to liquidate the crimes of Cai Jing, Wang Fu, Tong Guan, Li Bangyan, Zhu Meng, Liang Shicheng and others. Chen Dong Said in the letter." As Qinzong spoke, he read a passage from Chen Dong's letter: "What happened today is that Cai Jing caused chaos in the front, Liang Shicheng conspired in the back, Li Bangyan made grudges in the northwest, and Zhu Meng made grudges in the southeast. Wang Fu and Tong Guan also had grudges with the Liao and Jin Dynasties, and initiated border provocations." After reading, Qinzong looked at Li Gang and asked, "Chen Dong's letter, what do you think of it?"
It was Li Gang's wish to liquidate the crimes committed by the six thieves in the court. From the perspective of responding to the current critical situation, it is indeed necessary to liquidate the crimes of Cai Jing and other treacherous ministers and traitors in order to encourage the army and people of Bianjing to unite and defend Bianjing; however, Cai Jing and other treacherous ministers and traitors are powerful and have the protection of the Supreme Emperor. , a little carelessness may cause civil strife and affect the defense of Bianjing. Especially for Li Gang, his official position was not high and he was temporarily appointed in times of crisis. If he insisted on liquidating the crimes of Cai Jing and others, he would inevitably give people the idea of replacing him. With this in mind, Li Gang did not reply to Qin Zong's question.
When Qinzong saw that Li Gang had not spoken, he asked again: "What do you think of Chen Dong's letter? At this time, we, the emperor and the minister, are the only ones in the palace. The words come out of your mouth and into my ears. Heaven knows and the earth knows, and you know me." I know, sir, it doesn’t matter if you say so.”
Qinzong asked again, and what he said was so sincere that Li Gang could no longer pretend to be deaf and mute and avoid talking, so he said: "Your Majesty, Cai Jing, Wang Fu, Tong Guan, Zhu Meng, and Liang Shicheng are all the emperor's favorites." Ministers, who have been immersed in the imperial court for decades, have many minions and are quite powerful. Li Yangang is currently serving as prime minister, and has close friendship with Geng Nanzhong, Bai Shizhong, Zhang Bangchang and others. Moreover, Emperor Tong Guansui has gone south, Wang Fu has taken his family south, and Zhu Meng was stranded in the south of the Yangtze River. Only Cai Jing, Liang Shicheng, and Li Bangyan were in court in Beijing. Now he wants to liquidate the crimes of Cai Jing and others, which may cause more inconveniences. The emperor has announced that I will stay in Bianjing, and my main responsibility is to defend Bianjing. Yes. As far as I am concerned, the most important thing at present is to do a good job in the defense of Bianjing to ensure that Bianjing is as stable as Mount Tai and impregnable. It is inconvenient to participate in such matters, which may affect the defense of Bianjing; however, from the perspective of protecting Bianjing, It is indeed necessary to investigate the parties responsible for today's crisis in order to inspire the fighting will of Bianjing's soldiers and civilians. As for how to liquidate the crimes of Cai Jing and others, it is entirely up to the Holy One to decide."
After hearing the memorial, Qinzong nodded and said, "I understand what you mean. Li Bangyan was the prime minister of the dynasty, and his fault was that he had a grudge against the northwest. He was not guilty of any serious crime and could still stay in office; Cai Jing, Tong Guan, Wang Fu, and Zhu Meng, Liang Shicheng, Zhao Liangsi and others speculated, formed cliques for personal gains, took bribes and perverted the law, and deceived Sheng Cong. Their crimes cannot be pardoned. Tong Guan, Wang Fu, and Zhu Meng should be recalled first and then exiled; Cai Jing should also be exiled, and Tong Guan should be recalled. Guan and Zhao Liangsi should be killed. What do you think?"
Li Gang thought that if Cai Jing, Wang Fu, Zhu Meng, Liang Shicheng and others were not executed, he was afraid that the ministers in the court and the soldiers and civilians in the city would not agree. Continuing to use Li Bangyan and his like will only harm the country and the people. However, Li Gang knew that his mission was to defend the city of Bianjing. As long as the liquidation of Cai Jing and his like's crimes was on the agenda, someone would naturally pursue the matter, and it would not be his turn to worry about it. Thinking like this, Li Gang bent down and replied: "Your Majesty is wise!"
Immediately, Li Gang said goodbye and left the palace to worry about the defense of Bianjing.
