When Li Gang saw this, he was furious and scolded Bai Shizhong: "What nonsense did the prime minister say? The prerequisite for peace talks is to be able to fight. If there is no equal strength with the Jin army, the Jin army will not feel unwinnable." If we are so sure, where will peace talks come from? Can peace talks be achieved?"
Bai Shizhong was also furious, glared at Li Gang and said: "Yes! You are right to stay behind! You are absolutely right. Then I ask you, do the soldiers and horses in the imperial court now have the same strength as the Jin army? Is it worth it? Have you passed the Jin Army?"
Li Gang retorted: "How can the prime minister be afraid of the Jin army? When all the troops of the King of Qin arrive, the imperial army will be far superior to the Jin army in terms of number and combat power. The imperial court can fight against the Jin army."
Bai Shizhong shouted: "Okay! You are right, Lord Liubei! I want to ask you, where are the soldiers and horses of King Qin from all walks of life now? If the Jin army starts to attack the city now, and if Bianjing is captured, you will put the emperor on the throne. What kind of situation?! It’s simply confusing! Childish!”
Li Bangyan also interjected from the side: "What Prime Minister Bai said is absolutely true! Fighting relies on strength, not books? The left-behind adults are too bookish!"
Bai Shizhong used Emperor Qinzong's safety to coerce Li Gang, while Li Bangyan belittled Li Gang by saying that Li Gang was a civil servant and had no experience of leading troops in war. Li Gang was said to be unable to answer for a while by the two treacherous officials.
Emperor Qinzong, Zhao Huan, blushed when he saw this, because it was he who arranged the defense of Bianjing. It was he who appointed Li Gang to stay in Bianjing and be fully responsible for the defense of Bianjing. Bai Shizhong and Li Bangyan said that Li Gang was confused, naive, and If you are angry at the bookstore, don't you mean that you are confused, naive, and angry at the bookstore!
Seeing Bai Shizhong and Li Bangyan besieging Li Gang, Li Gang was speechless for a while. The censor Zhongcheng Qin Hui was unwilling and went out to say: "According to the wishes of the two prime ministers, the imperial army should give up resistance and welcome the Jin army into the city?"
Cheng Yaojin appeared in the middle of the road. Qin Hui suddenly said something, which made Bai Shizhong and Li Bangyan stunned. Then Bai Shizhong came to his senses and replied: "Qin Zhongcheng has something to say, so why bother to blame him. The truth is The intention is not to invite the Jin army into the city, but to give the Jin army some benefits and coax them to withdraw."
Zhang Shu, the shepherd of Kaifeng Prefecture, said at night that he took a step forward and spoke to Qin Hui: "What Prime Minister Bai said is wrong! Is the Kingdom of Jin a child? Then the Kingdom of Jin is greedy and wants to go to Shu. How can it be sent back with some benefits?" In the middle of saying this, Zhang Shuye turned to worship Qin Zong and said: "I am going to report to the Holy Emperor. In the opinion of my ministers, I will use offense as defense and stick to Bianjing. Waiting for the arrival of King Qin's troops from all walks of life, it is the best policy to drive away the Jin invaders. It must not be done." Showing weakness easily will encourage the Jin Army’s arrogance.”
Qin Zong said, nodding slightly.
The host and the main combatant were arguing fiercely. Suddenly, the palace official hurried in and loudly reported: "Your Majesty, Moutuogang was seized by the Jin army. More than 20,000 horses and a large amount of fodder fell into the hands of the Jin army." hand."
When Qinzong heard the news, he stood up from the dragon chair in shock, and then sat on the dragon chair naked, looking helpless.
This news not only shocked Qinzong, but also all the ministers present. The hall suddenly became panicked. All the ministers were panic-stricken and looked at each other in confusion.
Bai Shizhong shouted: "Look, look, what the truth is saying! Moutuogang is lost, 20,000 horses are gone, and the fodder is gone. What can the army do to resist the Jin army? Fighting depends on strength, not only It’s full of passion.”
Seeing this, Li Bangyan took a step forward, asked Emperor Qinzong to pay homage, and reported: "Your Majesty, Moutuogang has been lost, and the situation is extremely unfavorable for the court. At present, there are only a few soldiers in the capital, and King Qin's army has arrived again. No, from this point of view, there is no other way except to cede territory and seek peace."
On the dragon chair, Qin Zong heard the performance and nodded slightly.
Seeing this, Li Gang hurriedly came out of the squad and said: "Your Majesty, Prime Minister Li's request must not be agreed to. At present, the Jin army is advancing alone and does not have much food and grass. Even if it captures Moutuogang, it cannot sustain it for a long time." The imperial court does not need to be so afraid of him in his military actions. The only plan now is to fight with him. If the battle goes unfavorable, we can also close the city and defend it. At the same time, we urgently urge the king's troops from all walks of life to come quickly. By then, internal and external attacks will definitely be We can defeat the Jin army and cede territory to seek peace, but once it is done, there will be no room for reversal. I am reporting to the Holy One that this matter is absolutely impossible."
Qin Zong heard the performance and nodded frequently.
Qin Hui and Zhang Shuye also petitioned Qin Zong, but there was no intention of ceding territory to seek peace.
After hearing the report, Qinzong pondered for a while and then said: "What you all said is true. At present, we can only defend Bianjing with all our strength against the enemy. Please listen to the order!"
Qin Zong suddenly wanted to announce the decree, and all the officials in the hall were busy and silent, waiting for Qin Zong to announce the decree. Qin Zong said: "Zhang Shuye, the governor of Kaifeng, is the general governor of Bianjing's defense and supervises the defense of Bianjing. The position of governor of Kaifeng is taken over by Wang Shiyong, the Minister of Rites, and Xu Bingzhe is his deputy. This is it!"
Zhang Shuye, Wang Shiyong, and Xu Bingzhe stepped out of the queue and replied loudly: "I will obey the imperial edict!"
Emperor Qinzong Zhao Huan suddenly had this intention because Zhang Shuye was a close confidant of Emperor Huizong, and there were many things that he was not able to handle smoothly. What does Emperor Qinzong want to do? It turned out that at this time, Qinzong was actually inclined to accept the opinions of Bai Shizhong and Li Bangyan, and wanted to send envoys to the Jin camp to discuss ceding territory and suing for peace, and to deal with the Jin Kingdom's withdrawal. Qinzong also had a plan in mind, which was to leave the capital immediately and go south to Xiangyang to avoid risks if the negotiation failed. If this move is taken, Kaifeng Prefecture Mu Zhang Shuye will try his best to take the lead, and it will be inconvenient to operate. Compared with Zhang Shuye, Wang Shiyong and Xu Bingzhe are much easier to use.
Qin Zong therefore had a purpose.
After announcing the decree, Qinzong turned to look at the ministers and asked, "Do you have anything else to report?"
All the ministers shook their heads and said: "I have nothing more to report."
The head official of the palace shouted loudly: "If nothing happens, roll up the curtain and retreat!"
As soon as the head official of the palace finished shouting, one of the ministers shouted loudly: "I have something to report!"
Immediately, a minister stepped out of the train. Qinzong looked down and saw that it was Sun Zhan, the censor. During the Huizong Dynasty, Cai You gained power and recommended Sun Zhan to be the censor. After Qinzong was newly established, Sun Zhan discovered that Cai Jing and his son were gradually losing power. In order to clear up the relationship between him and Cai Jing and his son, he intended to impeach Cai Jing and his son. Now, when Sun Zhan saw that the elderly Cai Jing and his son Cai You were both coming to court, he thought it was an opportunity, so he went out to impeach Cai Jing and his son.
Qinzong saw that Sun Jian was out and had something to report, so he asked: "What do you have to report?" Sun Jian loudly said: "Your Majesty. I ask Cai Jing and his son to be removed from all powers and to investigate their corruption and perversion of the law. The crime of disrupting government and misdirecting the people.”
Sun Zhan said this, and all the ministers looked around, only to find that Cai Jing and his son were going to court in the future. As a result, many ministers, especially the censors, came out one after another to list the various crimes of Cai Jing and his son and impeach Cai Jing and his son.
Seeing this, Li Bangyan came out of the squad and said: "Your Majesty, the defense of Bianjing is the most important thing now. The defense of Bianjing should be dealt with first."
Li Bangyan was also a member of Cai Jing's party. He was afraid that pursuing Cai Jing and others' crimes would naturally implicate him, so he put Bianjing's defense as the top priority to delay the matter.
Seeing this, Sun Jian and the censors turned to besiege Li Bangyan, saying that Li Bangyan and Cai Jing were of the same party and had harmed the country and the people, and they should be investigated.
For Cai Jing, Wang Fu, Tong Guan, Zhu Meng, Liang Shicheng and others, Qin Zong had long wanted to hold them accountable, but for Li Bangyan, Qin Zong had not yet made up his mind to hold them accountable. Now, seeing that all the censors had gathered to impeach Cai Jing and his son, and besieged Li Bangyan, Qinzong said: "Cai Jing, Wang Fu, Zhu Meng, Liang Shicheng and others misled Sheng Cong, took bribes, perverted the law, and acted recklessly, leading to today's situation. To Cai Jing and other party members will be severely punished. All ministers listen to the order!"
The ministers stopped quarreling, bowed to Qin Zong together, and replied loudly: "I respectfully listen to the imperial edict!"
Qinzong issued an edict: "Today's events all originated from Cai Jing's party. Cai Jing was the imperial pen of the Supreme Emperor. He was old, so he was demoted to Secretary Supervisor, acting as agent for Nanjing affairs. Wang Fu was demoted to Chongxin Jun Jiedu The deputy envoy had no family property and was ordered to transfer to Yongzhou. He was not allowed to return to the court without an edict. He was demoted to Liangshi and became the deputy envoy of Changhua Army Festival. He left the capital on the same day without any mistakes. Zhu Meng was exiled and imprisoned in Xunzhou. Zhao Liangsi He will be executed. Tong Guan will return to the capital immediately and take charge of the affairs of the Privy Council. I do this!"
Qinzong's move was undoubtedly a gesture of raising it high and putting it down gently. All the ministers complained in their hearts and felt that the punishment was too light; especially Tong Guan, Li Bangyan, Cai You and others were not punished. In fact, Qin Zong had other plans in mind. Cai Jing is old and at the end of his strength, so it is easy to deal with him. Wang Fu and Liang Shicheng had no military power, so they were exiled first and then executed. Zhu Meng caused resentment among the people in the south of the Yangtze River. His crime was unpardonable and he was imprisoned. Zhao Liangsi first advocated the alliance with the Jin Dynasty to destroy the Liao Dynasty and tried his best to promote it. The crime was unpardonable and he was executed. Tong Guan had military power in his hands and even escorted the Supreme Emperor to Bozhou. He could not act rashly. He could only transfer him back to the capital first, deprive him of his military power, and then execute him. As for Li Bangyan, Qinzong is currently dependent on him, so he will not move for the time being and will deal with the situation later.
The ministers did not know Qin Zong's true thoughts, so they came out one after another to petition Cai Jing and others to be killed.
Qin Zong said: "I deeply understand the memorials of the ministers. However, in the current situation, the defense of Bianjing is the top priority. We should do a good job first and deal with Cai Jing and his party, and there will be results in the follow-up."
When Qinzong said this, the ministers could no longer appeal, so they loudly replied: "Your Majesty is wise! I will obey the imperial edict."
Then the court dispersed.
That night, Qinzong invited Bai Shizhong and Li Bangyan into the palace alone, and arranged for them to send envoys to Jinying to discuss the matter of ceding territory and seeking peace. Qinzong told Bai Shizhong and Li Bangyan: "Two gentlemen, this matter can only be carried out secretly. Li Gang, Zhang Shuye, Qin Hui and others must not be known about it."
Bai Shizhong and Li Bangyan replied: "Please rest assured, Your Majesty, we will proceed quietly and will never let Li Gang and others know about it."
"Okay! Okay!" Qin Zong said: "You two, please hurry up and prevent the Jin army from attacking Bianjing."
Bai Shizhong and Li Bangyan took the order and left the palace.
